Leaked: OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator Exposed in Protest of “Art Washing”

The Leak

A mysterious group has seemingly leaked access to Sora, OpenAI’s highly anticipated video generator, on the Hugging Face platform. This move is in response to alleged “art washing” and duplicity by OpenAI. The leaked project, published on Tuesday, utilizes Sora’s API endpoint, allowing users to generate 10-second videos up to 1080p resolution.

Verification

• Tibor Blaho (@btibor91), a keen observer, confirmed the authenticity of the leak, highlighting the use of hardcoded request headers and cookies from the Hugging Face space environment config.
• Kol Tregaskes (@koltregaskes) successfully generated and shared sample videos, describing Sora as an “optimised version”. Check video

Try it Yourself: https://huggingface.co/spaces/PR-Puppets/PR-Puppet-Sora 

(Note: Queue times may vary)

The Group’s Grievances

• Unpaid Labor: Hundreds of artists, including red teamers and creative partners, have contributed to Sora’s early access program without fair compensation, despite OpenAI’s $150B valuation.
• Narrative Control: OpenAI allegedly pressures early testers to promote a positive narrative around Sora, stifling genuine feedback and creative expression.
• Approval Process: Every Sora output requires OpenAI’s approval before sharing, with only a select few creators granted the opportunity to showcase their work.

Quotes from the Group:

“This early access program appears to be less about creative expression and critique, and more about PR and advertisement.”

“We are not against the use of AI technology as a tool for the arts… What we don’t agree with is how this artist program has been rolled out and how the tool is shaping up ahead of a possible public release.”

Sora’s Development Challenges

• Technical Setbacks: Sora has faced technical hurdles since its debut, with rivals racing to surpass it.
• Key Departure: Tim Brooks, Sora co-lead, left OpenAI for Google in October.
• Scaling Issues: OpenAI’s Kevin Weil (Chief Product Officer) cited the need to “perfect the model, get safety/impersonation/other things right, and scale compute” as reasons for Sora’s delayed public release.

Uncovered Features:

• “Turbo” Variant: The leaked Sora appears to be a faster, optimized version.
• Style Controls: Limited customization options and style controls have been discovered in the code.

The Bigger Picture

• Partnership Losses: OpenAI has ceded ground to video generation competitors, such as Runway (Lionsgate deal) and Stability (James Cameron on board).
• Hollywood Connections: OpenAI’s efforts to collaborate with filmmakers and studios, including a Cannes appearance, have yet to yield a major production house partnership.