depictions

OpenAI is temporarily blocking users of its Sora 2 AI video app from making content that includes Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness after some people created what the technology company called “disrespectful depictions” of the civil rights activist. 

OpenAI, the company behind generative-AI platform ChatGPT, said late Thursday on social media that it made the decision after Bernice A. King, the youngest child of King, contacted the company on behalf of his estate.

At the estate’s request, “OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures,” OpenAI and King Estate Inc. said in a joint statement posted on X.

An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment beyond what the company posted on social media. The King Center, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., also declined additional comment.

The tech company launched Sora 2 in September, an AI video generation app that allows users to create hyperrealistic and fantastical content with “cameos” of themselves, friends and others who grant permission. It quickly jumped to the top of Apple’s app store.

Users can control the use of their own likeness on Sora 2. OpenAI, however, has not specified its policy on generating videos with images of deceased people. The company said Thursday that authorized representatives and estate owners can request that a public figure’s likeness not be used in Sora 2 videos. 

“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,” OpenAI and King’s estate said. 

Sora 2 has also stirred controversy after content creators generated a flood of video clips that included copyrighted characters, such as animated TV character SpongeBob Squarepants and Mario from the Nintendo video game. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the issue in a blog post earlier this month, noting that the company will give copyrights owners “more granular control over generation of characters.”