- OpenAI has launched its Sora AI video app on Android
- Sora lets you create AI-generated videos from text prompts
- You can create digital avatars of yourself, your pets or real-world objects to star in your videos
OpenAI’s new Sora AI video social app is now officially available on Android after a spectacular debut on iOS several weeks ago. Its debut on iOS saw over a million downloads in its first five days on the App Store back in September.
Sora climbed the charts faster than the original ChatGPT mobile app and could do the same on Google Play.
That debut turned heads not only because of the novelty of AI-generated videos, but also because they went viral so quickly. Now that Android users can participate, Sora’s potential reach has skyrocketed.
iOS is a significant part of the smartphone ecosystem, but Android powers about 70% of the world’s smartphones. This means that the mainstream era of AI videos teased by the likes of Google and Meta has now arrived in earnest.
As with its iOS counterpart, the Android version of Sora is much more than basic image-to-video generation. The app includes a TikTok-style feed of AI-generated clips produced by other users, along with the Cameo tool that allows users to star in their own videos.
There are also new tools rolled out regularly, including reusable avatars of pets and real-world objects called Character Cameos, and users can remix videos they watch on the feed with new prompts and cameo characters.
Sora’s star shines
This enticing feature is also a source of confrontational criticism for how Sora handles likenesses, depictions of public figures, and copyrighted characters. After enough complaints, OpenAI reversed its opt-out policy for individuals and rights holders who did not want their likeness used in Sora. You now need express opt-in consent for cameos involving well-known characters or individuals. The company may even let rights holders charge extra for the use of certain people or characters in the future.
Nevertheless, Sora’s momentum suggests there is a real appetite for what Sora offers. The Android launch means that the amount of content is likely to increase exponentially, although the distribution of quality will likely still mean that much of it is mediocre at best.
Sure, you can whip up scenes in seconds with a few sentences that used to take days or weeks of design and work with traditional editing software, but democratizing the potential to create content doesn’t mean creative or innovative ideas are suddenly more common.
It also creates challenges around authenticity and attribution. When everyone can make compelling video content, what happens to our ability to verify what is real, or even who is real?
As Sora becomes mainstream, the pressure to build in ethical safeguards from the start will only grow. If you see a video of yourself saying things you’ve never said in a place that doesn’t exist, you’d probably have some protection too.
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