The Dawn of Sora: AI and the Future of Creativity
So, Sora is finally public. This moment feels monumental, yet it’s daunting for humanity to comprehend. As Marques Brownlee aptly puts it, we are witnessing “the worst it will ever be.” The technology is only going to improve from here.
Imagine a world where an unbridled version of this technology enables someone to fabricate security camera footage or create deepfake content that is indistinguishable from reality. We are on the brink of a time when the human mind may struggle to discern between what is real and what is artificially generated.
In the ‘Day 3’ launch video, Sam Altman states, “…they love to make tools for creatives.” However, many creatives are now feeling a sense of unease as the boundaries of ‘creativity’ and ‘generation’ blur. This raises critical questions:
Why Is AI So Good at Art?
Why is there such a concentrated focus on art in AI development? Why photography, music, lyrics, poetry, and now video? Some of the most fundamental joys of human existence seem to be the very areas where generative AI has made significant strides.
Why not tackle more complex societal issues like governance, international relations, or sustainable development?
The Abundance of Creative Data
I don’t believe there’s a sinister conspiracy among tech elites to undermine the creative class. It’s likely not a plot to strip away the meager incomes that many creatives earn after years of honing their craft. It’s probably not even about the oft-cited democratization of creativity.
The reality is simpler: there is simply more ‘creative’ content available for large machine learning models to train on. The nature of art often aims to reach as wide an audience as possible, resulting in an abundance of digital galleries, videos, songs, and texts. People naturally want to share their creations with the world — and inadvertently they are also sharing with AI.
Are We Protecting the Right Things?
AI has been granted access to a vast collective output of human experience, often without the consent of the creators who poured their hearts into their work. The proverbial cat is out of the bag, and no amount of legal maneuvering or protectionism will halt the relentless tide of machine learning.
So, why not focus on solving the more pressing issues? Why not generate solutions for policy, international relations, or ecological sustainability?
The Challenge of Proprietary Data
The answer may lie in the nature of the data itself. Much of the information needed to address our most significant challenges is proprietary, rights-managed, or classified — locked away from both humanity and machines. Unlike art, which is widely shared, the data necessary for tackling critical global issues is often inaccessible.
This lack of availability may stem from fears of competition, nationalism, or other -isms. While safeguarding this data is not inherently wrong, it does limit what can be fed into AI systems at scale, resulting in a focus on imitation rather than innovation.
Toward a Collaborative Future
Imagine a world where united people commit to collaboratively using AI to generate practical solutions that benefit all life on Earth.
For now, however, we may continue to be distracted and entertained by approximations of reality, mistakenly believing that we have all become creative geniuses simply because we can write a prompt and access a cloud of computers.
Meanwhile, the Earth groans under the weight of unresolved challenges, waiting for us to harness our collective creativity for the greater good.
Opinions are my own. After writing a complete article, I used AI to assist me in clarifying my points and restructuring the narrative flow. I think it reads a lot better, without losing my original intent. Note, I do not represent an opinion of any current or former organisation that I may be associated with.
