OpenAI’s new AI video-generating app, Sora, is a massive hit right out of the gate, hitting 1 million downloads in less than five days. The impressive milestone, announced by a company executive on Wednesday, highlights the excitement for the new technology, even as it sparks a major new controversy over copyright.
An OpenAI executive said the app, which is currently invite-only and only available on iPhones, reached the 1 million download mark even faster than the company’s wildly popular ChatGPT. It has already climbed to the number one spot in Apple’s App Store. “Team [is] working hard to keep up with surging growth,” he wrote on X.
But the app’s rapid success has been overshadowed by a growing backlash from Hollywood. The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents the major movie and TV studios, is furious that the app can create videos featuring copyrighted characters from shows like “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “South Park.”
“Videos that infringe our members’ films, shows, and characters have proliferated on OpenAI’s service,” said MPA’s CEO, Charles Rivkin, demanding that OpenAI take “immediate and decisive action.”
OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has acknowledged the problem, saying the company will soon give copyright holders more control over how their characters are used. He also asked for patience, saying that some users are already complaining that the app is too restrictive. “Please give us some grace,” Altman said. “The rate of change will be high.”
