If you’ve seen videos of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering “new” speeches or joining TikTok trends, those clips may soon disappear from your feed—at least the ones created with OpenAI’s new video generator, “Sora.”
After Dr. King’s daughter, Bernice King, denounced the use of AI to reimagine her father, OpenAI announced it has “paused generations depicting Dr. King.” In a post shared to X Thursday night, the company said the decision was made in collaboration with the King estate.
“The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.) and OpenAI have worked together to address how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness is represented in Sora generations. Some users generated disrespectful depictions of Dr. King’s image,” the statement read. “So at King, Inc.’s request, OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures.”
The announcement comes just weeks after the launch of “Sora 2,” a tool that allows users to create hyper-realistic AI videos featuring real and historical people. As previously reported by theGrio, social media users have used the platform to generate deepfakes of public figures like Dr. King and Robin Williams. This content style has quickly become a trend across platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and while many see it as entertainment, King describes it as “dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful.”
Celebrities including SZA, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Rihanna have also spoken out against the unauthorized use of AI to recreate their voices and likenesses for fake songs, videos, and photos.
“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 company’s statement continued. “Authorized representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos.”
OpenAI also thanked Bernice King for reaching out on behalf of her father’s estate. This collaboration may set a precedent for AI regulations. Now, the question is whether other public figures and estates will follow suit, and if rival AI platforms will take similar steps.
