A group of 16 artists has leaked OpenAI’s unreleased text-to-video generator, Sora, accusing the $157 billion AI company of exploiting their labor without compensation. The artists, who were part of an early access testing program, shared the tool publicly on Tuesday in protest, sparking controversy about OpenAI’s practices.
In an open letter posted on the AI platform Hugging Face, the artists alleged that OpenAI used their feedback to promote Sora rather than genuinely seeking creative critique. They criticized the program as “art washing,” claiming OpenAI controlled which AI-generated videos were made public to enhance its image while offering no pay for their efforts. “Artists are not your unpaid R&D,” they wrote, calling the early access program free PR for OpenAI.
OpenAI shut down access to Sora within three hours of the leak, rendering the tool nonfunctional. In response, an OpenAI spokesperson told The Washington Post that participation in the program was voluntary and came with no obligation to provide feedback. However, the artists argued that OpenAI’s practices exploited their labor while limiting creative autonomy.
Sora, announced in February 2024 but withheld from general release, allows users to generate videos from text prompts. While OpenAI has published select videos created during the testing phase, the tool’s leak underscores rising tensions between corporate AI developers and artists over fair compensation and ethical practices.
