Just when you thought (and maybe hoped) that generative artificial intelligence was being reigned in, brand-new technology has recently been teased, aiming to help any user generate sophisticated videos in seconds.
All you need to do is give it a few simple text prompts, and a video with complementary audio is created. So what does this new era of technology mean for the creative industries? When can you get your hands on it? Will the old-age debate over originality, imagination and copyright ever be put to rest? And do we really need an endless sea of recycled images to click through?
Introducing Sora 2 and the brand new Sora app
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, have unveiled a brand new upgrade to their text-to-video technology, titled Sora 2. With text-to-video, you can enter a simple prompt to the software, and Sora 2 will do all the heavy lifting, generating a complete video that follows your prompt, no matter how long and detailed, or short and sweet it may be.
The video will include your required images, characters and setting, follow your directions, the art style, and also include audio to suit the scene. And like any upgraded technology, Sora 2 promises new bells and whistles to an already simple process. Especially in the area of movement, videos are now said to promise improved body mechanics and physics, as well as multi-shot controllability, making the way people and objects interact and appear feel realistic.
You can see this demonstrated quite clearly in several of the demonstration trailers released, including the footage below of a figure skater performing a complex routine across the ice – but with a white cat perched on top of her head. Because, why not?
The movement of the cat as its owner performs a triple axel, and how it dismounts onto the ice, accompanied by the voice of a booming AI announcer, looks sleek. And it may raise an eyebrow or two as you realise the leap in progress gen AI has seemingly made.
There's also a party scene interrupted by a roaring elephant to watch. A busy stadium of spectators watching life-sized ducks race each other. An astronaut dog flies into a space station filled with floating tennis balls. Just why does the world need any of this? I’m asking myself that same question.
But then the tech teases the real worry, at least for me. A man is doing a simple stunt on a paddleboard. A group of friends play a game of beach volleyball. Someone does a kickflip on a skateboard. All innocent, ordinary, and pretty boring footage.
When you remove the absurdity and strip it back into convincing material that you wouldn’t really bat an eyelid at, Sora 2 stokes the age-old culture war over generative AI.
When can I use Sora 2? And what does this mean for the future of creative media?
Interested in getting to grips with the latest gen-AI? Well, you're going to have to wait a little longer. Users will have to wait for the brand new Sora app to be released in Ireland, as it is currently only available to the US and Canada through an invite-only process. Over time, more countries will eventually be included.
What about the cost? Well, as per their website, OpenAI states that while Sora 2 will "initially be available for free, with generous limits to start so people can freely explore its capabilities,", that this is subject to compute constraints.
From screenshots and user feedback, the app promises an easy user interface for you to create with ease. And all videos found and posted on the Sora app will have been created using its technology; think TikTok, but now exclusively for AI-generated content.
Users can cast themselves and friends directly into scenes and are encouraged to remix other users’ creations, putting their own spin on already recycled content. Again, think Snapchat, where you put yourself into a scenario, except this time, you get to control all the filters.
The rise (and rise) of AI slop
With Sora 2, users seem to have omnipotent freedom in creating their videos; not only can they provide their prompt with as much (or as little) detail as they want, but they can also choose the style of the video, making it as cinematic, cartoonish, surreal, completely animated, or a mix of genres, too.
Despite the limited release, social media has become awash with silly creations, highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly of the gen AI movement. Take the examples below as a small flavour of what’s about to flood your newsfeeds, such as an AI Bob Ross, who, of course, is painting a giant gorilla fighting 100 men, in tribute to the popular internet meme.
I'm so sorry @sama pic.twitter.com/OfcqJiTDfe
— Theo - t3.gg (@theo) September 30, 2025
With a simple prompt, you can have any character you want, across any media, do whatever you want, and say whatever you want. And already Sora 2 has reignited enormous copyright issues over artists and actors, with fans creating their own "original" creations from the likes of Studio Ghibli, Dragon Ball Z, and Bleach, to name but a few.
I tested the AI model Sora 2 on classic anime, the result is hardly believable...
— Naegiko (@naegiko) September 30, 2025
I can already see the hundreds of fanmades and parodies that are going to come out! Sora 2 is definitely a new step in AI anime.. pic.twitter.com/npWkSJjjML
It seems users are fully aware of the ethical issues of pinching artwork through the app, and aren’t afraid to poke fun. In the video below, a user created a video of Sam Altman literally stealing artwork directly from Miyazaki in the Studio Ghibli HQ, saying, "Free art, baby!".
Lmao, Sam Altman stealing art from Miyazaki in the Studio Ghibli HQ.
— PJ Ace (@PJaccetturo) October 1, 2025
Sora 2 is wilddddddd. pic.twitter.com/qzhfMs0A2t
And so, the alarm bells begin to ring across the creative industries.
What does a future with generative AI mean?
In the modern world of artificial intelligence, it’s becoming increasingly difficult (sometimes impossible) to separate fact from fiction. I used to joke that since gen AI struggled to remember how many fingers a human had, it wasn’t (and would never) be taken too seriously.
But there’s a noticeable shift in how realistic the technology is aiming to become. And with its growing popularity, there is going to be a sea of people creating and re-creating the most absurd of content, and posting it endlessly across the internet. Just because they can.
Sure, videos of cats ice-skating, astronaut dogs, or horse-racing ducks are easy spots to laugh at, roll your eyes, or ignore. And on the whole, they seem quite harmless. But they're pretty devoid of any quality or substance. And there's nothing unique about one creation if another user can design an exact replica with ease.
You could take any intellectual property in the world, including personal identities, and do whatever you want with it, with seemingly no penalty. And the fact that these videos are made in a fraction of the time, and with a fraction of the resources, means that there is no doubt an inevitable wave of AI slop building up, ready to assault your newsfeeds in the coming time.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
