Sora’s AI is resurrecting dead celebrities to turn them into cheap viral content: it’s technological nonsense
What of digitally resurrect deceased public figures It’s not new, but Sora 2 by OpenAI is crossing the line from homage to pure morbid entertainment, with videos ranging from harmless humor to the most explicit cruelty. This phenomenon, which has provoked the indignation of relatives of the daughter of actor Robin Williams, raises serious ethical and legal questions. What is happening. Michael Jackson shows up at a KFC and steals a man’s fried chicken while dancing away. Pope John Paul II does some skate tricks. Albert Einstein gives an interview after a UFC fight. These are just a few examples of what people are doing with Sora 2. There’s more: Martin Luther King, Kennedy, Nixon…many videos have a humorous and seemingly harmless tone. Others, however, are in very bad taste, such as those that show a Stephen Hawking being abused brutally. And the worst thing is that no one seems to be stopping it. The Robin Williams case. Zelda Williams, daughter of the late actor, has used her Instagram account to show her rejection of this trend. “Please stop sending me AI-generated videos of dad. Stop believing that I want to see them or that I will understand them. I don’t want them and I won’t understand them,” he said in his message. Although he does not give details about whether the videos he has received are made with Sora 2, his complaint comes just a few days after its release. The cameos. They are the great novelty of Sora 2 and one of the reasons for its popularity. In fact, the app was launched with a cameo by Sam Altman that has already generated all kinds of memes. With cameos you can create funny videos of yourself or a friend, but Sora won’t let you make videos of real people unless they have given their consent. Except if those people are dead. Blurred boundaries. In it Sora security document 2OpenAI states that “only you can decide who can use your cameo, and you can revoke access at any time. We also take steps to block depictions of public figures.” However, they don’t say anything about public figures who have died, and from what we’re seeing, it doesn’t seem like these guidelines apply in the same way. According to the TechCrunch teststhe app does not allow you to create videos of Jimmy Carter or Michael Jackson (although there are published videos), but it does not cause problems when doing so with Robin Williams or Richard Nixon. defaming the dead. Although it is ethically questionable, at a legal level things change. In the United States, where OpenAI operates, legally it is not possible to open a process for defaming a deceased personso the company would not have any responsibility. In Spain it is similar; the Organic Law 1/1982 includes the right to honor, personal and family privacy and one’s own image. However, according to the article 32 of the civil codecivil personality is extinguished after death. Yes, it could be the case that heirs claim the right to honor of the deceasedbut it is a complex process and full of nuances. The new AI dump. At the beginning of the year we talked about how Junk AI or ‘AI Slop’ had flooded the networks. Were most disturbing videosof very bad tastebut they were clearly made with AI. With Sora 2 a dangerous door opens and it is that of a new AI dump more realistic than ever. If we add to this the use of the image of deceased people as if they were toys with which we can do whatever we want, no matter how legal it may be, it sets a very worrying precedent. Image | tiktok In Xataka | OpenAI and AMD have just signed more than just an AI agreement: it’s the barter of desperation
