OpenAI is reportedly developing a standalone social media application that will be powered by its upcoming Sora 2 video generation model. The new app is said to closely resemble the popular platform TikTok, featuring a vertical video feed and a familiar swipe-to-scroll navigation system. The key distinction for this new platform is its content policy. The app will exclusively feature AI-generated videos created with the Sora 2 model. Users will not have the ability to upload photos or videos from their personal camera rolls, making it a unique ecosystem of purely synthetic media. For use within this social app, OpenAI will limit Sora 2 to generating video clips that are 10 seconds long or shorter. This stands in contrast to platforms like TikTok, which now allow users to upload videos up to 10 minutes in length. The full capabilities of the Sora 2 model outside of this specific application remain unclear. A notable feature of the app will be an identity verification tool. Users who opt into this feature will grant Sora 2 the ability to incorporate their likeness into the videos it generates. This functionality would allow other users to tag these verified individuals and use their digital likeness when remixing videos. As a safety measure, OpenAI will reportedly send a notification to users whenever their likeness is utilized by someone else, even if the video is created but never publicly posted to the app’s feed. On the copyright front, the software is designed to refuse generating videos that violate certain copyright restrictions. However, the robustness of these protections is a point of interest. Reports indicate that OpenAI’s approach will require copyright holders to proactively opt out of having their content used in Sora 2’s video generation, rather than an automatic opt-in system. The strategic move into social media by an AI research company may be tied to market opportunities. Observers suggest that OpenAI may be capitalizing on the ongoing uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future operations in the United States. By integrating a social component directly with its powerful Sora 2 model, OpenAI could also be creating a form of platform lock-in. Users who build a community and presence on the app may be less inclined to switch to competing AI video models, as doing so would mean leaving their social network behind. This positions the app not just as a tool, but as a destination.
