OpenAI has suspended depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. on its new video-generative tool Sora after users circulated videos of the late civil rights leader and activist that critics have called “beyond disrespectful”.
What to know
The move by the parent company of ChatGPT comes after widespread backlash over depictions of dead public figures being created and shared online, and in some cases being sent to their family members.
The often offensive and crude AI-generated videos and are being widely shared on social media platforms such as TikTok and Twitter/X, showing hyper- realistic depictions that make it increasingly difficult for the viewer to distinguish reality from AI-generated deepfakes.
OpenAI have confirmed in a statement that they would be pausing the ability of its new AI tool to generate videos of Dr. King while it strengthens safeguards around depictions of historical figures.
Why it matters
Sora, which OpenAI publicly released in December 2024, can generate extremely realistic AI-generated videos in just seconds after inputting a text prompt or image.
The tool allows users to creates videos of cinematic quality of anyone and or anything with a key exception, living people must provide consent before they are featured. Celebrities or other public figures must be dead before their likeness can be used.
One video being shared online depicts the late civil rights activist Malcolm X wrestling with MLK while making crude and offensive jokes and talking about defecating on himself. Predictably, this was met with widespread disgust and calls for tighter controls.
“It is deeply disrespectful and hurtful to see my father’s image used in such a cavalier and insensitive manner when he dedicated his life to truth,” Ilyasah Shabazz Malcolm X’s daughter told the Washington Post in a statement.
Robin William’s daughter made a similar appeal in an Instagram post, urging fans to “stop sending me AI videos of Dad”.
“Please, if you’ve got any decency , just stop doing this to him and to me…it’s NOT what he’d want”.
MLK’s daughter Bernice King shared a post on her Instagram profile agreeing with the plea, stating “I concur concerning my father. Please Stop”.
In a statement posted to Twitter/X, OpenAI said they have “paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures”.
“While there are strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures, OpenAI believes public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used. Authorized representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos”.
Neither OpenAI nor Dr. King’s estate immediately responded to Newsweek’s request for comment.
The controversy has sparked fierce debate online, with some siding with the families of deceased public figures and others voicing free speech concerns.
What happens next
As political leaders and policy makers grapple with dizzying advances in AI-generative tools, OpenAI and other firms at the forefront of this new technological age must police themselves.
The debate underscores the challenges they face as they weigh the technology’s transformative potential against the no longer theoretical dangers and damaging effects of its misuse.
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