OpenAI’s text-to-video generator Sora was used to make a video clip for an ambient track composed by indie musician August Kamp.
The official video clip for Worldweight features fluorescent creatures, blooming light bulbs, and techno-shrines in a fantastical world where technology and nature are as one – a fitting theme for a piece of work that was entirely generated by an AI model.
The clip, shared by OpenAI on its YouTube channel, was made by Kamp using Sora, the firm’s yet-to-be-released video generator. The artist said the result encapsulated the vision she had in mind when composing the song.
In a video description, Kamp said she created the track on a synthesizer two years ago, and it was “my absolute heart and soul.” It was raining outside and “I felt so lucky to be able to pour these feelings into the song,” she said.
While it is not clear what prompts Kamp used to generate the video clip, the result features a lot of water, whether in the form of rain, snow, ocean, or a river stream.
“This is what Sora is best for – in my opinion. Taking these pictures that I’ve held onto for two years and saying, ‘August – we can share these with folks.’ That’s what I think is special about this tool,” Kamp said.
“I get to share what was once locked behind my shut eyes – all alone. Which is to say – this is how the song has always ‘looked,’ it’s just that now I get to show you,” she said.
According to Kamp’s Instagram page, the musician is also an AI consultant and a tech activist. One of the stories in Kamp’s highlight album entitled “AI leftism” says, “If you aren’t Elon Musk, AI should not scare you.”
Not everyone shares this view, and the use of AI in arts and entertainment has become a matter of fierce debate.
Earlier this week, an open letter signed by more than 200 musicians, including Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, and Stevie Wonder was published calling on AI developers, tech companies, platforms, and digital music services “to cease the use of artificial intelligence (Al) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”
Last year, a five-month-long Hollywood writers’ strike ended in an agreement to limit the use of AI to write scripts.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is facing several lawsuits for copyright infringement, including from comedian Sarah Silverman, writers George R. R. Martin, John Grisham, and Jodi Picoult, as well as the New York Times.
It’s unclear when Sora will be released to the general public, but the technology will surely add another dimension to the AI debate. OpenAI has reportedly already pitched Sora to several major Hollywood studios.
Some of Sora-generated content published so far has been described as “sensational.” Kamp’s video clip has also drawn mostly positive reactions from commenters. “Sora isn’t an AI video generator, it’s a dream capturer,” one YouTube user said.
“Let's face it: this is rather magical,” said another.
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