A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that promises to create short videos from simple text commands has raised concerns along with questions from artists and media professionals.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and image generator DALL-E, on Thursday said it was testing a text-to-video model called “Sora” that can allow users to create realistic videos with simple prompts.
The San Francisco-based start-up said that Sora can “generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background,” but added that it still has limitations, such as possibly “mixing up left and right.”
Photo: AFP
Examples of Sora-created clips on OpenAI’s Web site range widely in style and subject, from seemingly real drone footage above a crowded market to an animated bunny-like creature bouncing through a forest.
Thomas Bellenger, founder and art director of Cutback Productions, has been carefully watching the evolution of generative AI image creation.
“There were those who felt that it was an unstoppable groundswell that was progressing at an astonishing rate, and those who just didn’t want to see it,” said Bellenger, whose France-based company has created large scale visual effects for such touring musicians as Stromae and Justice.
He said that the development of generative AI has “created a lot of debate internally” at the company and “a lot of sometimes visceral reactions.”
Sora has yet to be released, so its capabilities have yet to be tested by the public, Bellenger said.
“What is certain is that no one expected such a technological leap forward in just a few weeks,” he said. “It’s unheard of.”
Whatever the future holds, they would “find ways to create differently,” he added.
Video game creators are equally likely to be affected by Sora, with reaction among the sector divided between those open to embracing a new tool and those fearing it might replace them.
French video game giant Ubisoft Entertainment SA hailed the OpenAI announcement as a “quantum leap forward” with the potential to let players and development teams express their imaginations.
“We’ve been exploring this potential for a long time,” a Ubisoft spokesperson said.
Alain Puget, chief of Nantes, France-based game studio Alkemi, said he would not replace any artists with AI tools, which “only reproduce things done by humans.”
Nevertheless, this “visually impressive” tool could be used by small studios to produce more professionally rendered images, Puget said.
While video “cut scenes” that play out occasionally to advance game storylines are different from player-controlled action, Puget said he expects tools such as Sora to eventually be able to replace “the way we do things.”
Basile Simon, a former journalist and current Stanford University researcher, said that there has been “a terrifying leap forward in the last year” when it comes to generative AI allowing realistic-looking fabrications to be rapidly produced.
Simon said he dreads the idea of how such tools would be abused during elections and fears the public would “no longer know what to believe.”
Julien Pain of French TV channel France Info’s fact-checking program Vrai ou Faux (True or False) said he is also worried about abuse of AI tools.
“Until now, it was easy enough to spot fake images, for example by noticing the repetitive faces in the background,” Pain said. “What this new software does seems to be on another level.”
While OpenAI and US tech titans might promote safety tools, such as industry-wide watermarks that reveal AI-created imagery, “what about tomorrow’s competitors in China and Russia?” he said.
The Fred & Farid Group advertising agency, which has collaborated with the Longchamp and Budweiser brands and which early last month opened a studio dedicated to AI, said it anticipates that “80 percent of brand content will be generated by artificial intelligence.”
“Creative genius” would no longer be limited by production skills thanks to generative AI tools, one enthusiast said.
Stephanie Laporte, chief executive and founder of the OTTA advertising and influencer agency, said the technology would “force the industry to evolve.”
Laporte also said she anticipates ad companies with lean budgets would resort to AI tools to save money on workers.
A possible exception is the luxury segment, where brands are “very sensitive to authenticity” and “will probably use AI sparingly,” she said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in