Will AI Videos Disrupt Social Media?

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If you’re not sold on using AI to magically put yourself into videos to share with friends, OpenAI has a simple pitch: It’s a "blast."

"We first started playing with this 'upload yourself' feature several months ago on the Sora team, and we all had a blast with it," says OpenAI’s announcement.

That fun, addictive quality was highlighted in the example videos OpenAI shared: A man doing a backflip on a paddleboard, a person riding a horse on top of another horse and a figure skater performing a triple axle with a cat on her head, to name a few. When you use the new social app Sora, and you agree to upload your image and voice, that figure skater could be you.

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Sora uses OpenAI’s powerful, and recently updated, AI video creation tool to turn simple text inputs, such as "a guy does a backflip," into highly produced videos with sound. The videos are both fantastical and shockingly realistic, with famous and nonfamous people.

Users can choose to add themselves and share their creations. The videos have watermarks and some guardrails, such as filtering content deemed harmful. But OpenAI is entering a minefield of trying to police certain content and figuring out where to draw the line, especially with teen users. Meanwhile, Sora-created videos are quickly showing up on other platforms.

Sora’s surging popularity will spur copycat apps from Meta, Google, xAI and others. And apps such as Facebook and Instagram will push more AI videos. Given OpenAI’s long-term pursuit of revenue, don’t be surprised if the company focuses on building Sora into a head-to-head competitor with Meta for users and advertising dollars.

Will people want to look at an endless newsfeed of AI videos? The answer is likely yes, at least for many. Just as TikTok caused U.S. social media giants to pivot away from images and text to short-form video, Sora is likely to spur an emphasis on AI-generated videos across the social media landscape.

The coming explosion of AI videos will rattle Washington. Expect Congress to quickly take up AI videos in hearings and new bills, focusing on fears of terrorist propaganda, violent media, privacy risks, harm to kids, misinformation and more. OpenAI’s strategy is to move fast, so it will be hard for lawmakers to keep up.

One glaring early issue is rampant copyright infringement, and it has Hollywood and other artists fuming. Early Sora videos have famous characters and celebrities, which prompted OpenAI to announce changes, but its fast-moving tactics are sure to invite lawsuits. Though OpenAI wants to negotiate with artists and media giants, it likely doesn’t fear lawsuits, especially ones that could settle some of the novel questions around AI videos and copyright.

Don’t expect any federal laws soon, but quick state action is a sure thing. Twenty states already have laws aimed at curbing deceptive uses of AI related to elections, according to the R Street Institute, a public policy think tank. However, regulating the wide-scale emergence of AI videos risks infringing on freedom of expression, so lawsuits over coming state policies are likely, too.

Beyond consumer fun, look for Sora to be a tool often used by advertisers, including small businesses. It gives marketers of all sizes a new way to create highly produced digital video ads and online content that will catch the attention of customers. There’s sure to be lots of viral AI video trends that brands look to capitalize on.

Meanwhile, the future may call for more closely vetting videos on the web as altered or made-up videos feature politicians, business leaders and other prominent people.

This forecast first appeared in The Kiplinger Letter, which has been running since 1923 and is a collection of concise weekly forecasts on business and economic trends, as well as what to expect from Washington, to help you understand what’s coming up to make the most of your investments and your money. Subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.

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John Miley is a Senior Associate Editor at The Kiplinger Letter. He mainly covers AI, technology, telecom and education, but will jump on other business topics as needed. In his role, he provides timely forecasts about emerging technologies, business trends and government regulations. He also edits stories for the weekly publication and has written and edited email newsletters.

He holds a BA from Bates College and a master’s degree in magazine journalism from Northwestern University, where he specialized in business reporting. An avid runner and a former decathlete, he has written about fitness and competed in triathlons.