OpenAI's controversial video generation tool Sora has one less thing to worry about, thanks in part to an agreement reached with Disney.
According to the entertainment and theme park giant, users of OpenAI's Sora will soon be able to create videos featuring various Disney characters and other intellectual property.
Although details are sparse, users of Sora are expected to be able to create the content beginning in early 2026, according to Disney.
"As part of this new, three-year licensing agreement, Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that can be viewed and shared by fans, drawing from a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, including costumes, props, vehicle and iconic environments," a statement from Disney said.
The characters of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba and Mufasa are just some of the many from Disney-owned properties mentioned in the deal.
Currently, when users attempt to make videos with prompts mentioning Disney characters, Sora often refuses. "This content may violate our guardrails concerning similarity to third-party content," a dialogue box within the app says.
The dialogue box appears when trying to make a video using Mickey Mouse, for example. Some, however, have been able to finesse prompts to get around those guardrails.
As part of the OpenAI deal, Disney also indicated that it would make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI, giving the fast-rising technology company a much-needed vote of confidence and a potential influx of cash as it faces stiff competition from Google and Anthropic.
"This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences," OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said.
First announced in 2024, OpenAI's Sora has risen to the top of mobile app download charts in the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan. It allows users to create realistic-looking videos from just a few lines of text.
But amid the popularity, there have been complaints and controversy related to copyright infringement.
In October, OpenAI said that it has "strengthened guardrails" in its generative AI video creation tool Sora 2 after actor Bryan Cranston complained of having his likeness replicated. Cranston, best known for playing Walter White in the hit series Breaking Bad, told media and entertainment union Sag-Aftra that his appearance and voice had been generated without his permission.
"While from the start it was OpenAl's policy to require opt-in for the use of voice and likeness, OpenAl expressed regret for these unintentional generations," Sag-Aftra said in a statement.
OpenAI also responded to concerns raised by the estate of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, which complained about videos created on Sora depicting Dr King saying offensive things and perpetuating racist stereotypes. "OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures," the company said.
After complaints and legal threats from various entertainment entities, OpenAI changed its initial Sora 2 policy which allowed for copyrighted content to be generated and used within the app unless the copyright holders opted out.
The company now requires that copyright holders opt in before their content is used.
To prevent the spread of disinformation, fake news and other potential problems, OpenAI said that it decided to include a Sora watermark on each video generated by the app.
Within days of Sora 2's debut, however, apps to wipe away the watermark were readily available for purchase.
Mark MacCarthy, a senior fellow at the Institute for Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown University in Washington, said that while the Disney deal might help OpenAI to set a copyright precedent, it does not solve longer-term revenue problems that many analysts point out.
"So far Sora is a goofy hobby tool that users will gladly use for free, but it is not a useful business or entertainment tool, even with Disney characters," he said.
Mr MacCarthy said that various estimates show only 5 per cent of OpenAI's users pay to draw on the company's flagship ChatGPT product. "This deal doesn't solve OpenAI's bigger problem."
Robert Wahl, an associate professor of computer science at Concordia University Wisconsin, said that Disney is widely known throughout the entertainment industry for strongly protecting its intellectual property, and that the partnership with OpenAI gave it a unique opportunity to keep up with the pace of AI developments.
"Disney still maintains some control by working with Sora to ensure that the proper 'guardrails' are in place for content generation," he said, also reflecting on other aspects of the deal that he says benefit the entertainment company. "It gives them a foot in the door with AI and will allow them to integrate OpenAI within their own applications."
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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