On March 24th, Open AI announced the closure of its generative AI platform, Sora. Sora AI was focused on video generation and was only open for roughly eight months. The platform had incredible quality, and would pump out videos in under 10 minutes.
The closure of Sora brings speculation as to exactly why. One theory circulating heavily supports the idea that because of Open AI going public, Sora and its high cost could have limited the interest in the company.The cost, however, was very high, being described as a resource black hole. Senior and model UN President Jack LaBar holds concerns over AI. “When any company goes public, it opens them up to the capitalist market. They already monetize products like ChatGPT with premium features, but going public means they’ll have responsibilities to stakeholders. That could mean they make decisions that benefit investors, which worries me because they might be less ethically constrained” LaBar said. LaBar also felt the lack of ethical constraints is a significant worry presented by many.
The idea of consistently supporting the investors is an idea that is conflicting as to how much AI has already impacted our world. Performing artist and senior Olivia Acosta had strong opinions on AI. “AI has negatively affected the world. This is because the art that we have created as a species and the science that we have developed has been done so in such a fashion that keeps it under control. AI is rumored to be an extension of that, but when it is used to eliminate human-made art, it sets our collective creativity back many years.” Olivia views the closure of Sora positively. “I do think that the closure of Sora is beneficial for creatives/artists because it will pressure them to return to their roots and create again” Acosta said.
Restrictions and paywalls on AI could be considered unequal as it is a limitation of access to a powerful tool, leaving it in the hands of a group who can afford it. “ I hope they act ethically, but it would make sense that if they struggle with monetization, going public could help them raise capital.” Labar said The pressure from shareholders and investors could influence Open-AI’s decision making, threatening the equitability of AI and the access of it.
