I have made my stance on AI content generation well known in a previous article. I won’t go into it in detail, but I dislike it in every respect. When I awoke one morning to find that OpenAI’s video generator Sora was getting discontinued, a hearty grimace erupted over my face.
While I still believe there is a long way to go from the fabled “bubble-pop”, this has certainly given me enough grim satisfaction to tide me over for a while. Let’s have a quick look back at all the garbage this application was used to peddle, and see exactly what comes next.
Laughing all the way to the bank
On March 24, 2026, OpenAI announced it would shut down its AI video creation feature, Sora. Back in February 2024, when OpenAI first showcased this technology, several concerns arose about safety and intellectual property rights.
While many of these issues turned out to be exactly as people feared, it appears that this lapse in foresight has caught up with the company. While Sora was only one of many AI video generation services available, OpenAI is (arguably) the largest name in AI operating today. However, issues with intellectual property laws and a lack of interest in this tech appear to have led to its eventual downfall.
This means that, while the other services still (unfortunately) exist, there’s a very clear precedent for their closure. Overall, though, this is a big win for anyone who respects creative and intellectual property. It also hopefully means far less political content will be generated using these kinds of “tools” (I’m looking at you, current US government).
What’s next?
Aside from a billion-dollar deal with Disney falling through because of this, it could mean a lot or very little in the grand scheme of things. Why a company whose origin is so steeped in artistic innovation was paying so much into this tech is beyond me, short of profit that is. But what this means for the future of AI in video content creation is still up in the air.
The obvious “supply and demand” that had characterised much of the tech industry in recent years would dictate that demand for this kind of tech is declining. While that could mean dire things for similar companies, we likely won’t see knock-on effects soon.
While I’m certain many are hoping this is the first blow in a series of events leading to the previously mentioned AI bubble popping, I am skeptical. There are still several companies pushing for greater use of AI across all forms of content creation, including video. Additionally, it could be said that the only reason OpenAI has closed this service is due to an excess of “supply”.
I state this because, since the conception of Sora in early 2024, many other companies offering this type of generation have launched AI video tools (Google, Adobe, etc.). Meaning, more likely than not, this is simply an effect of other companies pushing OpenAI out of the limelight.
This is a big win for anyone who holds a negative opinion of AI in the content creation space. While I’m certain we’re still a while away from seeing any real, truly overwhelming changes to AI-generated video moderation, seeing Sora makes me happy. I can only hope to see other such “tools” follow suit in the future.
FAQs
Sora announced that it would cease operations on March 24, 2026. After just over a year of being in service.
Sora AI was a video creation tool from OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. This company is famous for pushing AI into public use, so seeing its flagship video creation tool shut down is big news for other such tools.
Unfortunately, there are several AI video creation tools currently available, including Google Gemini and Adobe Firefly. However, Sora was (arguably) one of the larger ones, so its failure may be indicative of the others’ future.
