OpenAI is launching the Sora app, its own TikTok competitor, alongside the Sora 2 model

Summary

On Tuesday, OpenAI announced the release of Sora 2, an audio and video generator to succeed last year’s Sora. Along with the model, the company also launched a linked social app called Sora, where users can be able to generate videos of themselves and their friends to share on a TikTok-style algorithmic feed. OpenAI’s work on a new social platform was previously reported by Wired. While we haven’t been able to test the invite-only app and Sora 2 model ourselves yet, OpenAI has shared impressive examples. In particular, Sora 2 is better at following the laws of physics, making the videos more realistic. OpenAI’s public clips depict a beach volleyball game, skateboard tricks, gymnastics routines, and cannonball jumps from a diving board, among others. “Prior video models are overoptimistic — they will morph objects and deform reality to successfully execute upon a text prompt,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post. “For example, if a basketball player misses a shot, the ball may spontaneously teleport to the hoop. In Sora 2, if a basketball player misses a shot, it will rebound off the backboard.” The Sora app comes with an “upload yourself” feature called “cameos,” which allows users to drop themselves into any Sora-generated scenes. In order to use their own likeness in a generated video, users will have to upload a one-time video-and-audio recording to verify their identity and capture their appearance. This feature also allows users to share their “cameos” with their friends, allowing them to give other users the permission to include their likeness in videos that they generate, including videos of multiple people together. “We think a social app built around this ‘cameos’ feature is the best way to experience the magic of Sora 2,” the company wrote. The Sora iOS app is available to download now and will initially roll out in the U.S. and Canada, though OpenAI says it hopes to expand quickly to other countries. While the Sora social platform is currently invite-only, ChatG...