OpenAI has launched its new TikTok-like social media app, Sora, in an invite-only early access period. Within 24 hours of its release, users have populated the platform with numerous deepfake videos, many prominently featuring a hyper-realistic, AI-generated version of CEO Sam Altman.
The experience on the Sora app is immediately defined by its content. One of the first videos presented to users depicts a seemingly unending factory farm filled with pink pigs grunting in their pens. Each animal is equipped with a smartphone screen playing a feed of vertical videos. A digital likeness of Altman stares directly at the camera and asks, “Are my piggies enjoying their slop?” The scene is presented as a continuous and expansive view of the farm environment.
On the app’s “For You” feed, the AI-generated Altman appears in numerous other scenarios. In one video, he is shown standing in a field with Pokémon, including Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and a creature described as a “half-baked Growlithe.” The Altman character looks at the viewer and says, “I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us.” Further user-generated clips show him serving drinks to Pikachu and the character Eric Cartman inside a Starbucks, screaming at a customer from behind a McDonald’s counter, and stealing NVIDIA GPUs from a Target. The latter video concludes with him being apprehended by police and pleading for them not to confiscate the hardware.
The creation of these videos is linked to users taking advantage of the app’s reported content policy. Sora will allegedly require copyright holders to actively opt out of their content’s use, a reversal of the typical model where creators must provide explicit consent. The legality of this approach is noted as debatable. The application displays guardrail warnings for certain prompts, such as, “This content may violate our guardrails concerning third-party likeness.” In one clip, the AI Altman persona recites this warning verbatim before breaking into hysterical laughter.
Sora’s feed also contains other user-generated videos that combine various intellectual properties, including depictions of Pikachu doing ASMR, the character Naruto ordering Krabby Patties, and Mario smoking weed. The technology powering the application, referred to as Sora 2, is noted as being particularly impressive. This capability is contrasted with Meta’s parallel attempt to create an AI-powered, TikTok-style social feed, an effort for which the source material indicates there is low public interest.
