By Aidan O’Connor | Radio Broadcaster
Artificial intelligence’s dangers have always stared society right in the face. From “The Terminator” to “The Matrix,” we’ve seen a deep, underlying fear of what this technology is capable of. These fears, at least for me, have come to a head with the lack of legislation around platforms like Sora 2.
Sora is an AI video platform that lets users type what they want to see, and within seconds, a video of their prompt will be generated. While these videos seem harmless, they represent real danger for the future.
Sora 2 can both mimic a person’s voice and their appearance. The platforms do have restrictions on using real people without permission; however, several users have been able to bypass these, leading to the creation of deepfakes. This has prompted several groups to take issue with the platforms.
The problem with Sora using people’s likenesses extends to the deceased as well. This creates a myriad of ethical issues, as they can’t sue or combat this misuse of their likeness like modern celebrities can. In this case, it’s up to the estate to take legal action, but things shouldn’t get that far in the first place.
The threat doesn’t end with the misuse of people’s identity and likeness; it also extends to the arts. Sora’s ability to mimic distinctive art styles, music and movie franchises has sparked controversy over how to handle copyright with AI.
Misuse and lack of adherence to copyright laws pose a grave issue for creatives. Sora is allowing the plagiarism of creative property without enabling the artist or company to take legal recourse.
This will inevitably create a world where people question the need for creativity, since you can write a prompt and have everything done for you in seconds. The quality of human media will slowly diminish until we have nothing created solely by humans.
The bright side of all this is that right now, Sora and other AI platforms are still in their early stages, and there is a chance to stop these issues before they get worse. Legislation needs to be made immediately to curb the progression before it becomes too overwhelming. Right now, AI-generated videos are still distinguishable; however, this truth is rapidly evaporating, leaving both consumers and creators questioning the purpose of creativity.
AI needs to be severely restricted in what it can produce and mimic. Going forward, there should be a restriction on using real people’s identities without their expressed consent, and no use of the likeness of the deceased. Copyright should also be enforced on AI-generated videos, as there is no reason humans should have to adhere to these laws while AI doesn’t.
The threat to our identity and creativity posed by AI video platforms like Sora 2 demands immediate action before the technology reaches a point of no return.
