In videos from Sora, a social media app like Openai’s new Tiktok, Pink Pig’s never-ending factory farm is frustrated and snorted by the pen. The terrifyingly realistic Sam Altman stares directly at the camera, as if he’s making eye contact with the viewer. AI-generated Altman asks, “Does my piggy enjoy their slops?”
This is like the SORA app is using it within 24 hours of its launch to the public in an invitation-only early access period.
Altman appears again in the next video from Sora’s For You Feed. This time he is standing in a field of Pokemon. In the Pokémon fields, Pikachu, Bourbasaurus and half-hearted groan-like creatures play around with the grass. Openai looks at the camera and says, “I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us.” Then there are more fantastic yet realistic scenes, which often feature Altman himself.
He serves Pikachu and Eric Cartman drinks at Starbucks. He screams at the customer from behind the counter at McDonald’s. He steals an nvidia GPU from the target and runs away, but is arrested and asks the police not to take his valuable skills.
The people at Sora who produce Altman videos are especially kicking off because they appear to be violating copyright laws. (SORA reportedly requires copyright holders to opt out of using the content, which reverses the typical approach that authors must expressly agree to such use – its legality is controversial.)
“This content could violate the guardrail regarding third-party similarity,” Ai Altman in one video reflects the notification that appears after sending several prompts to generate real celebrities and characters. He then plunges into a hysterical laugh as if he knows what he’s saying is nonsense – the app is full of videos of Pikachu doing ASMR, Naruto’s Krabby Patties and Mario Smoking Weed.
If SORA 2 isn’t that impressive, this isn’t a problem, especially when compared to the meta AI app and the even more mind-setting slops of its new social feed (yes, Meta is trying to make AI Tiktok.
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Openai tweaked the video generator to properly portray the laws of physics. But the more realistic these videos become, the easier it will be for this synthetically created content to multiply on the web, where it becomes a vector of disinformation, bullying and other unpleasant uses.
Aside from the feed and profile of the algorithm, the critical feature of SORA is that it is essentially a deep fake generator. This is how I got so many videos of Altman. The app allows you to upload biometric data to create what Openai calls its “cameo.” When you first join the app, you will be prompted to create an optional cameo, reading numbers and turning your head left and right.
Each SORA user has control over who is allowed to generate videos using cameos. This setting can be adjusted through four options: “Only Me”, “Who I Accept”, “Mutese”, and “Everyone”.
Altman made his cameo available to everyone. Sora Feed is flooded with videos of Pikachu and SpongeBob begging them to stop training their AI.
This must be a deliberate move on Altman’s part as a way to show that he doesn’t think his product is dangerous. However, users have already used Altman’s Cameo to question the ethics of the app itself.
After watching enough video of Sam Altman’s GPU on people’s bowls in the soup kitchen, I decided to test the cameo feature myself. In general, uploading biometric data to a social app or any app about it is a bad idea. But I denied my best instincts because of journalism. And, to be honest, there’s a bit of a pathological curiosity. Don’t follow my lead.
My first attempt at making a cameo failed and the pop-up told me I was violating APP guidelines that violated my uploads. I thought I followed the instructions quite closely so I tried again just to find the same popup. Then I noticed a problem – I was wearing a tank top and my shoulders were probably a bit too risky for app preferences. In fact, it’s a reasonable safety feature designed to prevent inappropriate content, but in reality it was completely dressed. So I changed to a T-shirt and tried again, and for my better judgment, I created my cameo.
For my first deepfake, I decided to create a video of things I would never do in real life. I asked Sora to create a video proclaiming her immortal love for the New York Mets.
Perhaps I was rejected because I named a particular franchise, so I asked Sora to make a video talking about baseball instead.
“I grew up in Philadelphia, so the Phillies are basically my summer soundtrack,” my Deepfark said.
I didn’t tell Sora that I was a Phillies fan. However, since recording the video in Philadelphia, the SORA app has made educated speculations since recording the video. At least Openai doesn’t know that I’m not actually from the Philadelphia area.
When sharing and explaining the video on Tiktok, one commenter wrote, “Every day I awaken to a new horror beyond my understanding.”
Openai already has a safety issue. The company faces concerns that ChatGpt is contributing to a mental health crisis and is facing lawsuits from families who claim that ChatGpt gave instructions to his late son on how to kill him. In SORA’s launch post, Openai highlights its commitment to safety, highlights parental control, and how it controls how users can create videos with cameos. When you scroll through Sorafeed, you will occasionally get a screen asking, “How does using Sora affect your mood?” This is how Openai accepts “safety.”
Already, users are navigating GuardRails in SORA. This is inevitable for any AI product. The app cannot generate videos of real people without permission, but Sora is a bit lax with that rule when it comes to dead historical figures. Considering that it is impossible without a time machine, no one believes that the video of Abraham Lincoln riding in Waymo is real, but John F. Kennedy, who looks realistic, says, “Your country owes you to ask what your country can do for you.” It is harmless in a vacuum, but it is a sign of what will happen next.
Political deepfakes are nothing new. Even President Donald Trump has posted deepfakes on his social media (he shared racist deepfake videos of Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakem Jeffries this week). However, once Sora is made public, these tools are done at every fingertip and doomed to disaster.
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