OpenAI’s newly announced text-to-video generator Sora has created quite a stir in the AI community. With its ability to produce high-quality videos up to 60 seconds long simply from text prompts, Sora represents a significant leap forward in multi-modal AI.
However, one key detail noticeably missing from OpenAI’s announcement is the release date for Sora. So, when can we expect this groundbreaking model to become available? Let’s analyze the possibilities.
Current Access to Sora
As of now, access to Sora is extremely limited. OpenAI has provided access only to select researchers, visual artists, designers and filmmakers.
These early testers serve two important purposes:
- Safety Assessment: They act as “red teamers” who adversarially test Sora to uncover risks, biases and potential for misuse.
- Creative Feedback: Visual artists and filmmakers provide feedback to help advance Sora’s capabilities for creative professionals.
So, the general public does not yet have access to Sora in any capacity.
Safety Steps Preceding Public Release
In its announcement, OpenAI stated that it is “taking several important safety steps ahead of making Sora available in OpenAI’s products.”
These safety steps include:
- Ongoing red team safety assessments
- Building AI tools to detect Sora-generated fake videos
- Consulting policymakers, educators and artists to address concerns
Considering these significant safety measures still underway, it is clear that OpenAI is not yet ready to unleash Sora to the wider public.
Comparison to Past OpenAI Release Timelines
Looking back at OpenAI’s previous groundbreaking releases like DALL-E 2, DALL-E 3 and ChatGPT, some consistent timelines emerge:
- Limited testing period: 1-2 months of safety red teaming and gathering feedback from select testers
- Gradual public rollout: Initially releasing access via waitlists and slowly opening access over weeks/months
- Eventual free access: After the initial paid release, making the model freely accessible to all (e.g. ChatGPT)
Applying a similar timeline for Sora would suggest a potential paid release in Summer 2024 after initial testing, with free access later in the year or in 2025.
When Will OpenAI Sora Be Released to Public?
According to the previous patterns and the current limited accessibility, we speculate the release of SORA for public in the next 3-6 months. It could be in the mid-May or June.
In our opinion, OpenAI would not push the public release in the next year. As soon as red teamers give green signal and the AI video detectors tools would be ready, we could see Sora available for everyone for free and paid plan.
The Need for Responsible Rollout
As a technology with potential for significant societal impact, Sora requires careful and responsible introduction to the public.
Issues like deepfakes, misinformation, copyright infringement, and biases need to be thoroughly addressed before wide release.
As such, OpenAI emphasizes that it cannot determine exactly when Sora will be ready for broader availability.
Final Words
While OpenAI has wowed the AI world with Sora’s capabilities, the release date remains a mystery.
Initial testing is still underway by researchers and creative professionals. In the coming months, OpenAI will likely gradually open access via waitlists while concurrently addressing safety and ethical concerns.
So, the eager public may need to hold on until late 2024 or even 2025 before Sora sees full availability. The wait will be worthwhile to ensure this remarkable technology has an overwhelmingly positive impact.
OpenAI has not publicly committed to any timelines yet. But based on their thoughtful approach with past releases, we can expect Sora’s rollout to be gradual and responsible – setting the stage for another groundbreaking AI achievement that pushes boundaries while prioritizing societal benefit.