AI firm deepens copyright row by releasing video-making tool

The artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT has launched its video generation tool in the UK amid a row between the tech sector and creative industries over copyright.

- Dan Milmo

Beeban Kidron, the film director and crossbench peer, said the arrival of OpenAI's Sora added "another layer of urgency to the copyright debate" in a week when the government faced strong criticism over its plans for letting AI firms use artists' work without permission.

OpenAI, which is based in San Francisco, is making Sora available to UK users who pay for ChatGPT.

The tool stunned film-makers when it was revealed last year, with the film and TV mogul Tyler Perry pausing an $800m (£630m) expansion of his Atlanta studio complex.

He said the tool, which was launched in the US publicly in December, might make building sets or travelling to locations unnecessary.

Users are able to make videos on Sora by typing in simple prompts such as asking for a shot of people walking through a "beautiful, snowy Tokyo city" where "gorgeous sakura petals are flying through the wind along with snowflakes".