The Walt Disney Company announced a new agreement today with OpenAI that will allow its characters to be brought to Sora. Disney says that this agreement is a significant step in making standards for responsible AI in entertainment. The agreement is for three years. During these three years, Sora will be able to generate user-prompted social videos that will be able to be both viewed and shared by fans. There will be over 200 characters available for this from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. The agreement will also see some of these fan-inspired shorts end up on Disney+.
“Technological innovation has continually shaped the evolution of entertainment, bringing with it new ways to create and share great stories with the world,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI, we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works. Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”
Characters that could bedrawn from include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba, Mufasa, as well as characters from the worlds of Encanto, Frozen, Inside Out, Moana, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Up, Zootopia, and many more; plus iconic animated or illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters like Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers, Yoda and more.
Moving forward, Disney and OpenAI have a shared commitment to responsible use of AI. The goal of this is to protect both the safety of users and the rights of creators. In addition to the licensing agreement, Disney will become a major customer of OpenAI. It will use its APIs to build new products, tools, and experiences that can be used for Disney+ and also deploy ChatGPT for its employees. Disney will also make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.
“Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content,” said Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences.”
OpenAI has said that as a part of this agreement, it will commit to implementing responsible measures to continue to address trust and safety surrounding AI. This will include age-appropriate policies and other reasonable controls acrossits services. OpenAI and Disney have also committed to maintaining robust controls to prevent the generation of illegal or harmful content, to respect the rights of content owners in relation to the outputs of models, and to respect the rights of individuals to control the use of their own voice and likeness appropriately.
What do you think of this new agreement between Disney and OpenAI? Are you looking forward to seeing Disney characters and stories come to life with Sora? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
