In a bold move, a group of artists has allegedly leaked OpenAI's Sora video model, a highly anticipated text-to-video AI technology, in protest of being used for what they claim is "unpaid R&D and PR". The leak, which includes a working interface for generating videos, has sparked a heated debate on the exploitation of artists in AI development.

The controversy began when OpenAI first teased Sora in February, but failed to provide any meaningful updates on its release. Meanwhile, a group of Sora beta testers claimed to have received early access to the model with the promise of being "early testers, red teamers, and creative partners". However, they soon realized that they were being used for "art washing" – lending artistic credibility to a corporate product – without being fairly compensated for their work.

In an open letter, the group of artists expressed their frustration, stating that "artists are not your unpaid R&D" and that they were not against the use of AI technology in the arts, but rather the way the artist program was rolled out. They criticized OpenAI for having hundreds of artists provide unpaid testing and feedback, while the company recently raised billions of dollars at a $150 billion valuation.

The artists also took issue with OpenAI's content approval requirements for Sora, which state that "every output needs to be approved by the OpenAI team before sharing". This, they argued, stifles creativity and limits the potential of the technology. When contacted by The Verge, OpenAI refused to confirm or deny the authenticity of the alleged leak, instead stressing that participation in its "research preview" is "voluntary, with no obligation to provide feedback or use the tool".

OpenAI's spokesperson, Niko Felix, emphasized that the company is working to balance creativity with robust safety measures for broader use, and that hundreds of artists in its alpha program have shaped Sora's development. However, the artists behind the leak argue that this is not enough, and that OpenAI needs to be more "open, more artist-friendly, and support the arts beyond PR stunts".

The controversy raises important questions about the role of artists in AI development and the ethics of using unpaid labor for corporate gain. As AI technology continues to advance, it is crucial that companies like OpenAI prioritize fairness, transparency, and artist compensation in their development processes.

The leak also highlights the ongoing challenges OpenAI faces in releasing Sora to the public. Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati previously stated that Sora would be available by the end of the year, but the company has since delayed its release, citing the need to "scale" the compute required to power it and "get safety/impersonation/other things right".

As the debate continues, one thing is clear: the relationship between artists and AI developers must be reevaluated to ensure that both parties benefit from the collaboration. The future of AI development depends on it.