OpenAI is preventing its users from making AI videos of Martin Luther King Jr. on its Sora app because of complaints from the civil rights leader’s family — at least for now.
OpenAI announced in a statement posted on X that they’d be pausing users’ abilities to make videos with the civil rights leader's likeness while the company "strengthens guardrails for historical figures." The statement does not address how long the pause will last, or who will have control over the guardrails.
“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,” the statement continued. “Authorized representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos.”
“Thanks Dr. Bernice A. King for reaching out on behalf of King, Inc., and John Hope Bryant and the AI Ethics Council for creating space for conversations like this,” added OpenAI.
Since the launch of Sora 2 in September, its users have started a trend of making realistic videos featuring deceased famous people such as Kobe Bryant, Malcolm X, and Tupac Shakur.
Earlier this month, MLK’s daughter Bernice requested that people stop putting her father in those kinds of videos.
Her request came via a post that referenced the daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda, who previously complained about people sending her AI videos featuring her father.
“Stop believing I wanna see it or that I’ll understand, I don’t and I won’t,” Williams wrote. “If you’re just trying to troll me, I’ve seen way worse, I’ll restrict and move on.”
“But please, if you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop,” she continued. “It’s dumb, it’s a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it’s NOT what he’d want.”
Bernice shared a screenshot of the story on Instagram, writing under it, “I concur concerning my father. Please stop.”
In some of the recent generated videos featuring King, the AI version of him ate a seafood boil with Malcolm X, was caught on video doorbell footage with John F. Kennedy, and posed in expensive jewelry.