In less than five days, more than a million people have already downloaded OpenAI’s new AI-powered movie creation tool, Sora. This is even more than ChatGPT’s viral success, which makes OpenAI a real rival in the social media arena, which is controlled by large names like Meta and TikTok.
On Wednesday night, Bill Peebles, who leads Sora at OpenAI, announced the milestone on social media. He said that the app got to its objective faster than ChatGPT did when it originally came out, even if only users who were invited could use it. Sora is only available to iOS users in the US and Canada, which makes the achievement even more astounding.
“The team is working hard to keep up with the rapid growth,” Peebles said, acknowledging the platform’s unparalleled demand.
A Different Type of Socialising
The Sora app, which was released on September 30th using OpenAI’s upgraded Sora 2 video creation algorithm, is a huge step forward for the AI firm. Sora isn’t just a tool for getting things done; it’s also a social network where people can make, share, and remix AI-generated movies in a vertical stream that looks a lot like TikTok.
The finest part of the software is the “cameos” feature, which enables users upload a short video and voice clip of themselves to produce a digital avatar that can be added to any AI-generated scene. People can email these avatars to their pals so they can work together to generate videos that merge real life and AI.
According to Appfigures, a third-party source, Sora had roughly 56,000 US installations on its first day and 107,800 downloads on October 1st. By October 3rd, the app had reached the top of Apple’s overall App Store chart. This is an unusual feat for a software that only lets specific users use it.
What this means for Meta and other firms that are in the same field
Industry watchers are paying a lot of attention to Sora’s quick development because they think it could be a challenge to Meta’s monopoly on social media participation. Facebook and Instagram have had a hard time keeping users, especially younger ones, interested. On the other side, Sora offers an entirely different value proposition: the ability to make high-quality material without needing professional equipment or editing abilities.
“This is a big change in the creator economy,” said Kashyap Rajesh, who is in charge of Encode, a group for young people. “Meta’s platforms rely on users creating their own content, but Sora makes it easy for anyone to become a good video maker right away.”
The repercussions of competition go beyond merely Meta. Erik Hammer, a venture capitalist at Marquee Ventures who puts money into media and entertainment technology, claimed that AI’s rise in creative professions is “comparable, if not more important than the shift from painting to photography or live theatre to film.”
If Sora becomes successful, it could speed up the breakup of social media that started when TikTok became very famous. On other platforms, you have to work hard to get a lot of followers. But on Sora, AI-generated material can go viral just because it’s good, not because the author is well-known.
What the technology can and can’t do
The initial Sora model came released in February 2024, and Sora 2 is a huge improvement over previous one. A lot of people remark that the new version generates videos that are almost as excellent as movies, with sound effects and speech that sync up and run for up to 60 seconds. Free users can make clips that are up to 10 seconds long right now. ChatGPT Pro users pay $200 a month and can access more features including the superior Sora 2 Pro model.
According to OpenAI’s blog, Sora 2 has learnt a lot more about physics and the idea that things last. The business added, “Previous video models are too hopeful; they will change things and change reality to make a text prompt work.” “For example, if a basketball player misses a shot, the ball might miraculously move to the hoop. If a basketball player misses a shot in Sora 2, the ball will bounce off the backboard.
Safety Measures and Controversy
There have been difficulties with the app’s quick growth. People rapidly started making videos with characters from popular shows like “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Rick and Morty,” and “South Park.” This made people worry straight away about breaking copyright laws.
The Motion Picture Association warned in a statement on Monday that “videos that infringe on members’ shows and characters have surged on OpenAI’s platform.” In response, OpenAI claimed it would offer copyright holders more control over their work and enable users set tight guidelines for how their likeness might be used.
There have also been more distressing examples, such AI-made movies of dead famous people and prominent personalities. Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late actor Robin Williams, asked people on social media to stop sending her photographs and videos of her father that were made by AI. This shows how hard it is to figure out the right thing to do with the technology.
The Economics of Engagement and Future Plans
Sora is more than simply a viral app for OpenAI; it’s a strategic gamble that high levels of engagement will lead to making money. ChatGPT has a lot of users, with 800 million people using it every week. But persuading those people to utilise it every day has proven tricky. The Deloitte Digital Consumer Trends Survey predicts that in 2025, only 6% of individuals in the UK utilised a generative AI app every day. About a third of people, on the other hand, used YouTube every day.
OpenAI promises to make making videos as fun as using popular social media sites by adding content remixing, trending challenges, and community participation to the process.
MIDiA Research, a business that examines the market, said, “The social platform framework lets OpenAI build an ecosystem where social sharing, trends, content remixing, and community can all help with engagement beyond just making content.”
OpenAI has indicated that it will swiftly make Sora available in other countries, offer Sora 2 through its API for developers to utilise, and continuing making enhancements to the platform based on what users say. The corporation has also begun to address concerns regarding “overmoderation.” Peebles has said that things would change soon.
The Big Picture
As realistic AI-generated videos take over social media, we start to wonder about the future of online engagement, creativity, and authenticity. Some people are frightened that if everything online seems false, people would stop utilising digital places completely. Some people think that the technology will help them be more creative because it was hard to be creative before because of expense and technical issues.
It’s apparent that Sora’s record-breaking launch has made the race between digital giants to define the next generation of social interaction and content production much more heated. OpenAI is currently a social media site as well as an AI research facility. This is changing how individuals compete online, which could transform how hundreds of millions of people create, distribute, and enjoy digital content.
People who want to use Sora are still on waitlists to acquire access to what might be the first really viral AI-native social platform. Sora is still at the top of the App Store charts.