OpenAI introduces AI model that turns text into video

Microsoft-backed OpenAI is working on a software that can generate minute-long videos based on text prompts, the company said on Thursday.

The software, called Sora, is currently available for red teaming, which helps identify flaws in the AI system, as well as for use by visual artists, designers and filmmakers to gain feedback on the model, the company said in a statement.

"Sora is able to generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background," the statement said, adding that it can create multiple shots within a single video.

Prompt: Historical footage of California during the gold rush.

Prompt: The camera directly faces colorful buildings in burano italy. An adorable dalmation looks through a window on a building on the ground floor. Many people are walking and cycling along the canal streets in front of the buildings.

Apart from generating videos from text prompts, Sora can animate a still image, the company said in a blogpost.

The video generation software follows OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, which was released in late 2022 and created a buzz around GenAI with its ability to compose emails and write codes and poems.

Social media giant Meta Platforms beefed up its image generation model Emu last year to add two AI-based features that can edit and generate videos from text prompts.

The Facebook-parent is also looking to compete with Microsoft, Alphabet's Google and Amazon in the rapidly transforming generative AI universe.

Sora is a work-in-progress, with the company adding that the model may confuse the spatial details of a prompt, and have difficulty in following a specific camera trajectory.

OpenAI said it was also developing tools which can discern if a video was generated by Sora.