The video generator Sora by OpenAI, which the company announced earlier this year, has become the center of a scandal. A group of testers with early access to the model released it to the public on the Hugging Face platform. In just three hours, users managed to generate dozens of videos before OpenAI blocked access.
In an open letter, the protesters accused OpenAI of using their labor without proper compensation. They stated that participation in the early access program resembled “art-washing”—an attempt to use artists to create a positive image for the tool. “Artists are not your unpaid R&D and PR,” the letter says. They also criticized the company for strict requirements regarding the publication of results and a lack of transparency about the model’s development.
Sora allowed users to create 10-second high-resolution videos, retaining OpenAI’s signature watermark. According to the protesters, access to the model was limited, and all results had to be approved by the company before publication. In response, OpenAI emphasized that participation in the program was voluntary, and to support artists, the company provides grants and other resources.
