OpenAI pauses AI-generated deepfakes of Martin Luther King Jr. on Sora 2 app after ‘disrespectful’ depictions

In response to the “disrespectful portrayal” of King Jr. Created by users on the Sora 2 app, OpenAI claims to be strengthening its guardrails for how users portray historical figures, the company said in a joint statement with King’s estate.

While the company claimed there was interest in freedom of expression in the depiction of historical figures, it said: “Public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their images are used. Approved actors or property owners can request that their images not be used in Sora’s images.” It was not immediately clear how these criteria would distinguish between who could be considered a public or historical figure, or whether people would have to submit requests to OpenAI on a case-by-case basis.

The younger King, who is also an attorney, minister and executive director of the King Center, a nonprofit founded by her mother, Coretta Scott King, after King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, said she did not like the way users portrayed her father.

“For me, many images of AI never lived up to the level of freedom of expression. It was foolishness,” she wrote in a post on X.

The younger king added that the younger king was not an elected official and his image was not public domain. She noted that many states allow the estate of the deceased to be inherited and control the person’s appearance and how they are used for up to 100 years after their death to avoid unauthorized commercial exploitation.

The Sora 2 app was released late last month and has already generated controversy due to its uncanny ability to create realistic AI-generated videos. Last week, Creative Artists Agency, which represents actors like Scarlett Johansson and Brad Pitt, as well as United Talent Agency, which represents Greta Gerwig and Ben Stiller, picked their clients out of Sora 2, with scathing statements. United Talent Agency called the app “exploitation, not innovation,” while Creative Artists Agency said the app “puts our clients and their intellectual property at significant risk,” according to Hollywood Reporter.

However, some celebrities have given OpenAI the green light to manipulate their images in AI-generated videos on Sora 2. An AI version of influencer and boxer Jake Paul was shown confronting police over a fake hit-and-run, causing a scene on a plane, and wearing colorful makeup.

Paul, for his part, appears to have embraced the new batch of AI-generated videos. He reportedly posted an AI video of himself having a meltdown at Starbucks to his personal Instagram story. Caption: “I was surprised someone took this photo on camera this morning – what happened to privacy?”