What is Sora?
Sora is a generative AI diffusion model that can create multiple characters, complex backgrounds, and realistic-looking movements in videos up to a minute long. It can also create multiple shots within one video, keeping the characters and visual style consistent, making it an effective storytelling tool.
Sora can be used to generate videos to accompany content, promote content or products on social media, or illustrate points in business presentations. While it shouldn’t replace the creative minds of professional video makers, Sora could be used to make some content more quickly and easily.
The UK, Switzerland, and parts of Europe won’t get access to Sora for now
Currently, Sora is available in every region with access to ChatGPT except the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the European Economic Area. The Guardian pointed out that Sora still needs to comply with the European Union’s GDPR and Digital Services Act and the UK’s Online Safety Act. OpenAI said in December it plans to expand access “in the coming months.”
How do I access Sora?
As of December, ChatGPT Plus and Pro users can access Sora at sora.com.
Sora videos can be in 1080p resolution, up to 20 seconds long, and in widescreen, vertical, or square aspect ratios. The interface allows users to insert their own content, and the “storyboard” tool helps users organize their prompts in sequence.
How does Sora work?
Sora is a diffusion model, meaning it gradually refines a nonsense image into a comprehensible one based on the prompt and uses a transformer architecture. The research OpenAI performed to create its DALL-E and GPT models — particularly the recapturing technique from DALL-E — were stepping stones to Sora’s creation.
Sora videos don’t always look realistic
Sora still has trouble telling left from right or following complex descriptions of events that happen over time, such as prompts about a specific camera movement. Videos created with Sora are likely to be spotted through errors in cause-and-effect, OpenAI said in February, such as a person taking a bite out of a cookie but not leaving a bite mark.
What are OpenAI’s safety precautions around Sora?
With the right prompts and tweaking, Sora’s videos can easily be mistaken for live-action. OpenAI is aware of possible defamation or misinformation problems arising from this technology. The company said in December that it has guardrails in place to prevent “child sexual abuse materials and sexual deepfakes.” Uploads of people in general are “limited.”
If Sora is released to the public, OpenAI plans to watermark content created with Sora with C2PA metadata. The metadata can be viewed by selecting the image and choosing the File Info or Properties menu options. People who create AI-generated images can still remove the metadata on purpose or may do so accidentally.
What are the competitors to Sora?
Sora’s photorealistic videos are quite distinct, but similar services exist. Perhaps the most high-profile among them are Google’s Veo, now in private preview, and Amazon’s upcoming Nova Reels.
Runway provides ready-for-enterprise text-to-video AI generation. Fliki can create limited videos with voice synching for social media narration. Generative AI can now reliably add content to or edit videos taken conventionally as well.
On February 8, Apple researchers revealed a paper about Keyframer’s proposed large language model that can create stylized, animated images.
Conclusion
Sora is a powerful tool for generating photorealistic videos, but it’s not without its limitations. OpenAI has taken steps to ensure the safety and responsible use of Sora, but it’s still important for users to be aware of the potential risks and limitations of the technology.
FAQs
Q: What is Sora?
A: Sora is a generative AI diffusion model that can create multiple characters, complex backgrounds, and realistic-looking movements in videos up to a minute long.
Q: Who can access Sora?
A: As of December, ChatGPT Plus and Pro users can access Sora at sora.com.
Q: What are the limitations of Sora?
A: Sora still has trouble telling left from right or following complex descriptions of events that happen over time, such as prompts about a specific camera movement. Videos created with Sora are likely to be spotted through errors in cause-and-effect.
Q: What are OpenAI’s safety precautions around Sora?
A: OpenAI has guardrails in place to prevent “child sexual abuse materials and sexual deepfakes.” Uploads of people in general are “limited.” If Sora is released to the public, OpenAI plans to watermark content created with Sora with C2PA metadata.
Q: What are the competitors to Sora?
A: Similar services exist, including Google’s Veo, Amazon’s Nova Reels, Runway, Fliki, and Apple’s Keyframer.
