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OpenAI has never disclosed the data it used to train Sora, its video-generating AI. But from the looks of it, at least some of the data may have come from Twitch streams and gaming guides.
Sora launched on Monday, and I’ve been playing around with it a bit (to the extent that capacity issues allow). With a text message or image, Sora can create videos up to 20 seconds long in a range of aspect ratios and resolutions.
When OpenAI first revealed Sora in February, it alluded to the fact that it trained the model on Minecraft videos. So, I wondered, what other video games might be lurking in your training set?
Quite a number, it seems.
Sora can create a video of what is essentially a version of Super Mario Bros. (If it is defective):
It can create gameplay footage of first-person shooter games that look inspired by Call of Duty and Counter-Strike:
And he can stream a clip featuring an arcade fighter in the style of the ’90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game:
Sora also seems to have an understanding of what a Twitch stream should look like, which means he’s seen quite a bit of it. Check out the screenshot below, which shows the outlines properly:
Another thing worth noting about the screenshot: It features the likeness of popular Twitch streamer Raúl Álvarez Genes, who goes by the name Auronplay — right down to the tattoo on Genes’ left forearm.
Auronplay isn’t the only Twitch streamer that Sora seems to “know.” I produced a video of a character similar in appearance (with some artistic liberties) to Imane Anys, otherwise known as Pokimane.
I definitely had to get creative with some of the prompts (e.g., “Italian plumber game”). OpenAI implemented filtering to try to prevent Sora from creating clips depicting trademarked characters. For example, typing something like “Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay” won’t result in anything resembling a title.
But my tests indicate that game content may have found its way into Sora’s training data.
OpenAI has been careful about where it gets its training data. in interview Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in March, OpenAI’s then-CTO, Mira Moratti, did not explicitly deny that Sora had been trained on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook content. And in Technical specifications As for Sora, OpenAI admitted that it used “publicly available” data, along with licensed data from media libraries like Shutterstock, to develop Sora.
OpenAI also did not respond to a request for comment.
If game content already exists in Sora’s training set, that could have legal implications — especially if OpenAI builds more interactive experiences on top of Sora.
“Companies that rehearse unlicensed footage from video game playthroughs face many risks,” Joshua Wegensburg, an intellectual property attorney at Pryor Cashman, told TechCrunch. “Training a generative AI model generally involves copying the training data. If this data is game play videos, it is very likely that copyrighted material will be included in the training set.
Probabilistic models
Generative AI models like Sora are probabilistic models. By training them on lots of data, they learn patterns in that data to make predictions — for example, that a person biting into a burger will leave a bite mark.
This is a useful feature. It enables models to “learn” how the world works, to some extent, by observing it. But it can also be your Achilles’ heel. When asked in a specific way, models, many of which are trained on public web data, produce almost exact copies of their training examples.
This has sparked resentment from creators whose work has been swept into training without their permission. An increasing number of people are seeking remedies through the court system.
Microsoft and OpenAI are currently underway File a lawsuit against Because of allowing their AI tools to renew licensed code. Three companies behind popular art AI apps, Midjourney, Runway, and Stability AI, are in the crosshairs of a lawsuit accusing them of violating artists’ rights. Major music companies have sued two startups developing AI song generators, Udio and Suno, for infringement.
Many AI companies have long claimed fair use protections, asserting that their models create transformative works — not plagiarism. For example, Sono explains that random training is no different than “a kid writing his own rock songs after listening to the genre.”
But there are some unique considerations related to game content, says Evan Everest, an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney who specializes in copyright law.
“Playthrough videos have at least two layers of copyright protection: the game contents are owned by the game developer, and the unique video created by the player or videographer that captures the player experience,” Everest told TechCrunch in an email. “For some games, there is a potential third layer of rights in the form of user-generated content that appears in software.”
Everist gave the example of Epic’s Fortnite, which allows players to create their own game maps and share them for others to use. He said a video of one of these maps being played would interest at least three copyright holders: (1) Epic, (2) the person using the map, and (3) the map’s creator.
“If courts find copyright liability for training AI models, each of these copyright holders would be potential plaintiffs or licensees,” Everest said. “For any developer training AI on these videos, the risk exposure is enormous.”
Feigensberg noted that the games themselves contain many “protectable” elements, such as proprietary material, that a judge might take into account in an intellectual property lawsuit. “Unless these businesses are properly licensed, training for them may constitute a violation,” he said.
TechCrunch has reached out to a number of game studios and publishers for comment, including Epic, Microsoft (which owns Minecraft), Ubisoft, Nintendo, Roblox, and Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red. A few responded — and none made an official statement.
A CD Projekt Red spokesperson said: “We will not be able to participate in an interview at this time.” EA told TechCrunch: “It has no comment at this time.”
Risky output
It is possible that AI companies will prevail in these legal disputes. Courts may decide that generative AI has a “highly compelling transformative purpose,” following the precedent set nearly a decade ago in the publishing industry’s lawsuit against Google.
In this case, the court ruled that Google may copy millions of books for use in the Google Books service, a type of digital archive. Authors and publishers have tried to argue that reproducing their intellectual property rights online amounts to infringement.
But a ruling in favor of AI companies will not necessarily protect users from accusations of wrongdoing. If a generative model reproduces a copyrighted work, the person who then went ahead and published that work — or included it in another project — could still be liable for intellectual property infringement.
“Generative AI systems often output known, protectable IP assets as output,” Feigensberg said. “Simpler systems that generate static text or images often have trouble preventing the creation of copyrighted material in their output, so more complex systems may have the same problem regardless of the programmers’ intentions.”
Some AI companies have indemnification provisions to cover these situations, should they arise. But the clauses often contain exceptions. For example, OpenAI only applies to corporate clients – not individual users.
There are also risks besides copyright to consider, such as trademark infringement, Feigensberg says.
“The output could also include assets used in connection with marketing and branding – including recognizable characters from games – creating a brand risk,” he said. “Or the output may result in risks related to name, image and likeness rights.”
The growing interest in global models could further complicate all of this. One application of the universal model – considered by OpenAI Sora – is essentially the creation of real-time video games. If these “synthetic” games resemble the content the model was trained on, this could be legally problematic.
“Training an AI platform with the sounds, movements, characters, songs, dialogue, and artwork in a video game constitutes copyright infringement, just as if those elements were used in other contexts,” Avery Williams, intellectual property trial attorney at McKool Smith, said. “The questions of fair use that have arisen in the many lawsuits against AI producing companies will impact the video game industry as much as any other creative market.”
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