Good riddance, Sora

Sora AI is dead. Good riddance. 

If you've been living under a rock for the last year, Sora is an artificial video-making platform made by OpenAI, the same creator behind ChatGPT, and was arguably the largest generative AI video platform. The platform was very popular upon launch, quickly breaking a number of app store records. 

Last week, OpenAI announced the shutdown of the platform, shocking many and leaving those who used the site without their service.  

Some may ask, “If Sora was so popular, why did it shut down?” There's a number of reasons as to why it did, all of them a cautionary tale about modern AI. 

The popularity of the site, while initially amazing, decreased significantly over the last few years. Many intellectual property owners blocked their characters from being able to be generated on the site, which led users to only be able to use original characters or certain approved IPs, such as Disney. 

According to the New York Times, OpenAI is expected to spend upwards of $100 billion within the next four years which, considering the company only made around $13 billion in revenue last year, means the company is at a loss. While the previously aforementioned Disney made a deal with the company to give $1 billion for OpenAI to legally use characters from the House of Mouse (that was canceled post-Sora shutdown), that still is not enough to put the company in the green. 

The shutdown was, simply put, a move for self-preservation. OpenAI says they will continue to use the technology behind the scenes, but the software is gone for the public. 

In their official statement, OpenAI said, “We know this news is disappointing.” To that I say, disappointing to who? 

Ever since Sora was unveiled, as far back as 2024, a majority of people have held negative opinions of generative AI technology (unless you run a major TikTok account about AI fruits, but I digress). From my experience, the number of people who have become anti-generative AI since Sora was announced has become absolutely massive. 

The fear of AI taking over numerous industries has also increased in the last few years. Actors, musicians, animators and video game developers, among others, have all called out the technology due to its potential to get rid of their jobs and other jobs too, especially as the technology becamemore advanced. 

The technology is also unethical as, according to Forbes, data centers used to store data from AI use an estimated 300,000 gallons of water per day. That number, compounded with the large amounts of data centers that have been built across the globe, has accelerated a potential clean water crisis. 

Will this shutdown cause the ever-elusive AI bubble to burst? More than likely, no.

However, it will more than likely prevent new generative AIs from being conceived, as those looking to join the industry will look at Sora as a cautionary tale and will be more willing to not step into the field than before. 

I am glad to see Sora go. The platform has been nothing but trouble since day one, and I feel better now that it’s gone. With my friends, and even myself, in AI-threatened fields, this feels like a step in the right direction to protect my future, even if it is just one platform. 

Goodbye, Sora. No one will miss you.