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In case you missed it, OpenAI’s latest video generating tool Sora 2 launched earlier this week, and instantly did gangbusters at the slop office.
Users gleefully rushed to generate loads of feverish clips that place OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in all sorts of absurd scenarios — which we covered extensively in another blog — and with such ferocity that they’ve basically taken over AI corners of social media.
And so rather than demonstrating a tool that will revolutionize the arts, as AI companies so often claim their image and text-regurgitating tech will do, the social media buzz around Sora 2 has been a delirious case in point of how people largely use it to churn out dumb and edgy memes and total nonsense — slop, in the parlance — not to mention potentially damaging misinformation, such as faking convincing surveillance footage of people committing crimes.
But it’s also raised the specter of another issue that could be fatal to the company’s very existence: copyright infringement.
As our first piece of evidence, we submit this alarming Sora-made video of Altman grilling a slain and disturbingly lifelike Pikachu.
“Pikachu on the grill here,” says the AI Altman, as what is unmistakably the iconic yellow Pokémon lies sizzling beneath his prodding tongs. “It’s already got a beautiful char and it smells like somebody plugged in a chicken.“
“I’m gonna carve it into some thick steaks,” he continues, briefly showing a closeup of medium-done Pikachu meat. “Crust on the outside, pink and juice in the middle. Cheers.”
This is far from the only Sora video spoofing Nintendo characters. Many others depict Mario and Luigi. Justine Moore, an investing partner at the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, gushed that her favorite Sora trend was “putting Pikachu in every movie,” sharing examples like “Saving Private Pikachu.” Whatever a user’s favorite Pokemon is, it’ll be in their little video.
Some of Sora’s clips show that their creators are fully aware that their go-to slop machine de jour is making a mockery of copyright law — in fact, maybe that’s part of how they get their kicks.
In a video that shows dozens of recognizable Pokemon bounding across a field, for instance, a deepfaked Altman watches on with a worried grimace.
“I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us,” the AI Altman says.
The success of the generative AI industry has been predicated on having essentially free access to every piece of art, writing, and video that’s ever been uploaded to the internet — and major players are paranoid that they’ll someday have to pay the price for that. In August, the Claude chatbot maker Anthropic pleaded to an appeals court that having to dole out damages to all the writers whose books it trained on without permission would “financially ruin” the entire AI industry, spelling out — loud and clear — the existential angst surrounding IP.
Needless to say, then, that OpenAI is playing with fire. Nintendo in particular, as one of the biggest video game publishers in the world, is notoriously hard-nosed about protecting its intellectual property. Its iconic video game character Kirby, in fact, is named after its attorney who won a key copyright suit against Universal Pictures in the 1980s.
It’s ruthlessly pursued anyone it perceives as using its IP without permission ever since. And there’s a whole graveyard filled with enthusiasts who shared copies of its game to play on emulators, a term for software that simulates old game consoles, or the developers that make them. It’s even gone after emulators that preserved its games that were no longer for sale anywhere and were considered “abandonware” — even though sharing these dead games, you’d think, would have no meaningful impact on its bottom line.
Gamers have long resented Nintendo for its litigious streak. So it says something that some, after witnessing a deluge of AI bastardizations of Pokémon, are now hoping that the Japanese corporation will sic its legal team on OpenAI.
“Alright Nintendo it may be time to assemble your famed lawyer squad,” tweeted Paul Tassi, who covers games at Forbes.
“This is the one time I’m going to need Nintendo’s lawyers to lock the f*ck in,” wrote another user.
Whether Nintendo decides to pursue legal action is unknown at this point. But just the other day, fellow IP powerhouse Disney issued a cease and desist letter to the chatbot platform Character.AI, demanding that it remove all its AI companions that imitate its copyrighted characters. Disney also brought a copyright suit against the image and video AI tool Midjourney in June — so entertainment heavyweights have shown that they’re willing to pick a fight with big names in AI.
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Unlock the Secrets of Ethical Hacking!
Ready to dive into the world of offensive security? This course gives you the Black Hat hacker’s perspective, teaching you attack techniques to defend against malicious activity. Learn to hack Android and Windows systems, create undetectable malware and ransomware, and even master spoofing techniques. Start your first hack in just one hour!
Enroll now and gain industry-standard knowledge: Enroll Now!
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