The Walt Disney Co. took a big technology gamble when it dropped the news about its $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI. This momentous transaction is a signal for a major eventual shift of one of the largest and powerful entertainment companies in the world to the use of generative artificial intelligence for increasing their empire of storytelling.
Next year, Disney is going to let its fans make videos of Disney's characters using OpenAI's Sora video-generation app.
Content generated by AI is a hot topic right now and due to its simplicity and abilities, OpenAI's Sora is leading the discussion. With a single sentence, anyone can generate accurate short videos in a matter of seconds.
This application has gone viral worldwide and has been the subject of heavy discussion regarding the possibility of AI re-creating characters and brands. Adding fuel to the fire, the Sora app users will be able to access more than 200 characters (e.g. from Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars) soon as Disney gave its permission.
Bob Iger, CEO at Disney, commented on the partnership, calling it a ‘thoughtful, and responsible’ venture that involved considerable forethought. The two companies claim that their alliance is geared towards protecting creators, safeguarding copyright, and strengthening the safety measures in place.
OpenAI agreed to install ‘strong controls’ to make sure prohibited content is not published while Disney stated that this deal is not about voice or the likeness of any of their stars.
The partnership between the two companies is not limited to the interaction of consumer video tools only. Besides this, Disney is going to be a significant OpenAI client and also receive stock options.
Disney is on the move to have ChatGPT at the disposal of its employees and is working with OpenAI to create new tools and experiences. Also, thanks to using everyday speech users will be able to generate Disney-related pictures via ChatGPT Images.
Next, characters such as Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Cinderella, Iron Man and Darth Vader are the ones from whose content new artificially created material can be generated. Apart from that, they will feature on Disney+ where curated selections of Sora videos will be uploaded thus combining the creativity of users with the official distribution channel.
Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, referred to Disney as the ‘world’s leading model for storytelling’ thereby underlining the move to a new level of creativity with the help of AI where the audiences not only experience but also become creators of the content in the AI-powered world.
