OpenAI Shuts Down Sora, Highlighting AI's Creative Limitations
On April 26, 2026, OpenAI announced the termination of its video creation tool, Sora, due to escalating operational expenses, reduced user interest, and legal ambiguities. Launched on February 15, 2024, Sora enabled users to generate brief videos from text inputs but incurred losses of $1 million daily, according to The Wall Street Journal. Initial enthusiasm diminished as users found it challenging to apply the tool effectively, and stringent prompt regulations restricted its usefulness. This closure underscores significant obstacles facing generative AI, with similar declines noted in platforms like Midjourney and Stability AI. Computer scientist Ahmed Elgammal points to a "counter-creative bias" in AI, while the emergence of AI-generated "slop" earned it the title of 2025's word of the year.
Key facts
- OpenAI discontinued Sora on April 26, 2026.
- Sora was unveiled on February 15, 2024.
- Sora lost $1 million per day according to The Wall Street Journal.
- TechPowerUp called Sora the 'Text-to-Video AI Model Beyond Our Wildest Imagination'.
- Ahmed Elgammal coined the term 'counter-creative bias'.
- Midjourney and Stability AI have experienced declining engagement.
- Merriam-Webster and the American Dialect Society chose 'slop' as 2025 words of the year.
- Barbican Centre held 'AI: More Than Human' in summer 2019.
- National Museum of China showcased 120 AI artworks in November 2019.
Entities
Artists
- Ahmed Elgammal
Institutions
- OpenAI
- The Wall Street Journal
- TechPowerUp
- Midjourney
- Stability AI
- Barbican Centre
- National Museum of China
- Merriam-Webster
- American Dialect Society
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Beijing
- China