OpenAI bans celebrity deepfakes on Sora after Breaking Bad actor raises concerns about AI slop

OpenAI has banned users from generating celebrity deepfakes using its Sora app. Notably, the new app was launched alongside the Sora 2 model last month. Since then, there have been widespread concerns about the AI video app being used to create realistic deepfakes of individuals without their permission.

​The matter came to light after Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston complained about users generating videos that featured his likeness and voice without his consent. He raised the issue with SAG-AFTRA, the American labor union representing over 170,000 media professionals.

​“I was deeply concerned not just for myself, but for all performers whose work and identity can be misused in this way. I am grateful to OpenAI for its policy and for improving its guardrails, and hope that they and all of the companies involved in this work respect our personal and professional right to manage replication of our voice and likeness,” Cranston said in a release on Tuesday.

​SAG-AFTRA then joined forces with Cranston and three other major talent agencies—United Talent Agency, Creative Artists Agency, and the Association of Talent Agents—to demand better protections for individuals from Sora.

​Apart from Cranston, families of Robin Williams, George Carlin, and other deceased celebrities have also complained to OpenAI about their likeness being used in the Sora app.

​For its part, OpenAI says it has an opt-in policy for using the voice and likeness of a living person and regretted the ‘unintentional generations’ via its AI video generator. The company says it is strengthening guardrails around replication of voice and likeness when individuals do not opt in.

​Notably, Sora’s “Cameo” feature allows users to add an AI avatar of themselves in the video, which has been used to generate deepfakes of many famous personalities. The Sora app has been available only via invites since its launch on September 30. It is available on iOS with support for Android to follow suit later on.

​How the backlash around Sora started?

​Prior to the current announcement, OpenAI had to block content related to Martin Luther King Jr. after the new app was used to create offensive, racist, and crude videos using the likeness of the popular civil rights leader. OpenAI also now gives representatives or estate owners of historical and public figures the ability to request that their likeness not be used for the AI slop on Sora.