OpenAI's Sora app surpasses one million downloads

OpenAI’s text-to-video app, Sora, has achieved over one million downloads in less than five days, as announced by Sora’s leader, Bill Peebles, on X.

Peebles noted that this milestone was reached faster than the initial launch of ChatGPT, despite Sora currently being available only in North America and having been rolled out as an invite-only application.

He mentioned that OpenAI is “working hard to keep up with the surging growth” and that new features, along with fixes to address issues of over-moderation, are forthcoming.

The app converts text prompts into realistic ten-second videos, has rapidly risen to the top of the Apple App Store charts in the United States. Its viral popularity has flooded social media feeds with user-created clips, highlighting both the appeal and controversy surrounding AI-generated videos, which are increasingly prevalent today.

According to the BBC, Sora’s user-friendly interface and shareability have sparked a wave of creative experimentation. However, the technology has also faced criticism regarding its treatment of public figures and copyrighted material.

Several videos circulating online have featured deceased celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur, raising ethical concerns about consent and the digital use of their likenesses.

Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late Robin Williams, recently called on people to stop sharing AI-generated videos of her father. Her plea is connected to the rising trend sparked by the popularity of Sora.

Several companies that are developing their own generative AI systems are currently facing lawsuits related to the use of copyrighted materials in their training datasets.

The BBC reported that the AI firm Anthropic has recently agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by authors who claimed that their works were used without permission.