OpenAI has announced a significant adjustment to the policies governing its advanced AI video generation platform, known as Sora. This shift comes in response to growing ethical and cultural concerns surrounding the recreation of historical figures through artificial intelligence. The company is now tightening the parameters that dictate how Sora handles the digital likenesses of such figures, particularly after users produced AI-generated videos portraying civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in ways described as inappropriate and deeply disrespectful.
In a carefully worded joint statement released on Friday in collaboration with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr., OpenAI disclosed that it has temporarily halted the generation of videos featuring King. This pause, which was initiated at the estate’s express request, allows the company time to strengthen what it calls its “guardrails” — the ethical and technical boundaries that dictate how Sora may portray individuals from history. OpenAI explained that this pause is intended to ensure that digital recreations of prominent historical figures reflect both accuracy and respect, particularly when those individuals have enduring cultural, moral, or societal significance.
The decision follows the recent launch of Sora 2, an upgraded version of OpenAI’s text-to-video technology that has rapidly gained popularity. Within weeks of its release, social media platforms were saturated with short, highly realistic AI-generated clips derived from user-submitted text prompts. Many of these clips featured well-known figures from history, ranging from political leaders to cultural icons. However, some of the generated videos represented Martin Luther King Jr. in ways that his estate deemed inappropriate, leading to heightened discussions about the intersection of creative freedom, technological innovation, and moral accountability.
In their joint remarks, OpenAI and the King Estate noted that although freedom of expression plays an important role in allowing individuals to depict historical figures, there is also a compelling argument for granting families and official estates authority over how a person’s image, legacy, and voice are manifested in digital media. The statement emphasized that while the development of generative AI is a profound artistic and technological milestone, it must be accompanied by meaningful respect for the privacy, dignity, and intellectual property of the deceased.
As part of its newly articulated policy, OpenAI is giving representatives and estates of historical figures the right to request what is being called an “opt-out” — a formal exclusion preventing those figures from being represented in Sora’s AI-generated videos. This measure builds upon OpenAI’s existing rules, which already prohibit users from generating videos that depict living individuals without explicit consent. Previously, however, these restrictions did not extend to deceased persons, leaving an ethical and legal gray area that the company is now attempting to address.
The policy adjustment follows direct communication from Bernice A. King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and the CEO of The King Center. According to OpenAI, Bernice King reached out to express her concerns about the AI depictions circulating online, describing them as inconsistent with her father’s moral stature and the mission of the King family’s ongoing work. While The King Center did not provide an immediate response to Business Insider’s inquiries, OpenAI declined further comment beyond its previously issued public statement on the social platform X.
This controversy highlights a much broader societal debate about the role of artificial intelligence in reviving — or, in some cases, distorting — the images of deceased cultural and public figures. In recent months, AI-generated representations of musicians, actors, and other iconic personalities such as Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, and Bruce Lee have proliferated across digital platforms. Many of these portrayals, often surreal or satirical in tone, blur the line between homage and mockery, raising complex ethical and philosophical questions about consent, legacy, and artistic reinterpretation.
Bernice A. King’s concerns echo those of numerous other families and estates that have publicly condemned unauthorized digital recreations of their loved ones. The estates of comedian George Carlin and actor Robin Williams, for instance, have actively resisted similar uses of artificial intelligence. In early 2024, Carlin’s estate even resorted to legal action, filing a lawsuit against the creators of the ‘Dudesy’ podcast for releasing an AI-generated special titled “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead.” The complaint accused the podcasters of infringing on Carlin’s intellectual property rights and exploiting his persona for profit. The case concluded in April 2024, when the defendants agreed to remove the AI-generated video and cease all use of Carlin’s voice and likeness.
Meanwhile, Zelda Williams — daughter of the late Robin Williams — emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of this growing trend. In a social media post shared on Instagram and later cited by Variety, she implored the public to stop sending her AI-generated videos featuring her father, describing the practice as “disturbing,” “exploitative,” and fundamentally misaligned with what he would have wanted. As a filmmaker in her own right, having directed the romantic comedy “Lisa Frankenstein,” Williams argued that these algorithmically produced recreations reduce genuine legacies to what she called “slop puppeteering” — a form of digital manipulation motivated primarily by online virality rather than respect or artistry. Her articulate denunciation gained traction online and was echoed by Bernice A. King, who reposted the statement on X with an unequivocal endorsement: “I concur concerning my father. Please stop.”
Collectively, these reactions underscore an urgent need for clearer ethical frameworks guiding the use of artificial intelligence in relation to identity, memory, and cultural heritage. OpenAI’s decision to implement stricter rules for Sora marks an important step toward reconciling technological creativity with moral responsibility — an attempt to ensure that innovation in AI serves not only the imagination of users but also the enduring dignity of those whose images continue to shape human history.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/sora-martin-luther-king-jr-openai-pause-ai-video-2025-10
