OpenAI pauses generations of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Sora video.

OpenAI announced Thursday that it has temporarily halted the ability for users to create videos with a likeness of the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. using its AI video model, Sora. The company says it is adding these protections at the request of Dr. King’s estate after some Sora users created “disrespectful images” of his image.

“While there is a strong interest in freedom of expression in the depiction of historical figures, OpenAI believes that public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their images are used,” OpenAI said in a post on X from its official newsroom account. “Authorized representatives or property owners can request that their images not be used in Sora’s cameo.”

The restriction comes just a few weeks after OpenAI launched its social video platform, Sora, which allows users to create realistic AI-generated videos resembling historical figures, their friends, and users who choose to recreate their images on the platform. The launch has sparked intense public debate about the dangers of AI-generated videos, and how platforms should put up guardrails around the technology.

Dr. Bernice King, Dr. King’s daughter, posted on Instagram last week asking people to stop sending her videos of an AI that resembles her father. She joins Robin Williams’ daughter, who also asked Sora users to stop making AI-powered videos of her father.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Sora users created AI-generated videos of Dr. King making monkey noises and grappling with another civil rights icon, Malcolm X. Scrolling through OpenAI’s Sora app, it’s easy to find raw videos resembling other historical figures, including entertainer Bob Ross, singer Whitney Houston, and former President John F. Kennedy.

The licensor of Dr. King’s estate did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

In addition to how Sora represents humans, the launch also raised a host of questions about how social media platforms handle AI videos of copyrighted works. The Sora app is also full of videos featuring anime like SpongeBob, South Park, and Pokémon.

OpenAI has added other limitations to Sora in the weeks since its launch. Earlier in October, the company said it plans to give copyright holders more fine-grained control over the types of AI videos that can be created with their likeness. Perhaps this was in response to Hollywood’s initial reaction to Sora, which wasn’t great.

As OpenAI adds restrictions to Sora, the company appears to be taking a more hands-off approach to content moderation in ChatGPT. OpenAI announced this week that it will allow adult users to have “sexual” conversations with ChatGPT in the coming months.

With Sora, OpenAI appears to be confronting the concerns that come with AI video creation. Some OpenAI researchers have publicly wrestled with questions about the company’s first AI-powered social media platform in the days since its launch, and how that product fits into the nonprofit’s mission. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said the company felt “fearful” about Sora on launch day.

Nick Turley, president of ChatGPT, told me earlier this month that the best way to teach the world about new technology is to get it out into the world. That’s what the company learned with ChatGPT, and that’s what OpenAI found with Sora as well, he said. And the company seems to be learning something about how to distribute this technology, too.