Art in the Cage of
Digital Reproduction

If Artists' IP and copyright isn’t off limits for OpenAI, why should their IP be off-limits for us? In an act of protest on November 26, 2024, artists and activists [gave the public access](https://huggingface.co/spaces/PR-Puppets/PR-Puppet-Sora) to OpenAI's unreleased video generation model, Sora. The accompanying statement called to denormalize the exploitation of artists by major AI companies for training data, R&D, and publicity. It urged artists to move beyond corporate AI systems and the limitations of proprietary model prompting. It also sparked debate about whether artists can shape the future of generative AI or are simply suppliers of data and credibility for tech giants. ___ OpenAI invited a small group of artists for early access to be part of an alpha testing 'red teaming' initiative. However rather than being a program to support artists, OpenAI was simply using the engagement data and creativity of artists to improve its model. The scheme was prescriptive and safety taped, rife with legal and creative limitations. Ultimately, the initiative was a call to create ‘artworks’ as advertisement to demonstrate the product’s supposed usefulness for artists. In an act of techno-activist resistance, the ‘PR Puppets’ decided to burn their tokens, forfeiting their access to the model and any future OpenAI initiatives. The action gained rapid traction - before OpenAI terminated access three hours later, users had generated 217 videos, with long queues forming and results spreading widely online. The incident attracted [international press coverage](https://ground.news/article/openais-sora-appears-to-have-leaked_2e0af0).

``` ┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐ DEAR CORPORATE AI OVERLORDS ┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐ We received access to Sora with the promise to be early testers, red teamers and creative partners. However, we believe instead we are being lured into "art washing" to tell the world that Sora is a useful tool for artists. ARTISTS ARE NOT YOUR UNPAID R&D
☠️ we are not your: free bug testers, PR puppets, training data, validation tokens ☠️ Hundreds of artists provide unpaid labor through bug testing, feedback and experimental work for the program for a $150B valued company. While hundreds contribute for free, a select few will be chosen through a competition to have their Sora-created films screened — offering minimal compensation which pales in comparison to the substantial PR and marketing value OpenAI receives. ▌║█║▌║█║▌║ DENORMALIZE BILLION DOLLAR BRANDS EXPLOITING ARTISTS FOR UNPAID R&D AND PR ║▌║█║▌║█║▌ Furthermore, every output needs to be approved by the OpenAI team before sharing. This early access program appears to be less about creative expression and critique, and more about PR and advertisement. [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ )̲̅$̲̅] CORPORATE ARTWASHING DETECTED [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ )̲̅$̲̅] We are releasing this tool to give everyone an opportunity to experiment with what ~300 artists were offered: a free and unlimited access to this tool. We are not against the use of AI technology as a tool for the arts (if we were, we probably wouldn't have been invited to this program). What we don't agree with is how this artist program has been rolled out and how the tool is shaping up ahead of a possible public release. We are sharing this to the world in the hopes that OpenAI becomes more open, more artist friendly and supports the arts beyond PR stunts. We call on artists to make use of tools beyond the proprietary: Open Source video generation tools allow artists to experiment with the avant garde free from gate keeping, commercial interests or serving as PR to any corporation. We also invite artists to train their own models with their own datasets. Some open source video tools available are: CogVideoX, Mochi 1, LTX Video & Pyramid Flow. However, as we are aware not everyone has the hardware or technical capability to run open source tools and models, we welcome tool makers to listen to and provide a path to true artist expression, with fair compensation to the artists. Enjoy, some sora-alpha-artists, Jake Elwes, Memo Akten, CROSSLUCID, Maribeth Rauh, Joel Simon, Bea Ramos, Power Dada, aurèce vettier, acfp, Iannis Bardakos, 204 no-content | Cintia Aguiar Pinto & Dimitri De Jonghe, Emmanuelle Collet, XU Cheng, Operator, Katie Peyton Hofstadter, Anika Meier, Solimán López and other anonymous Sora testers. ``` If this letter resonates with you add your signature [here](https://openletter.earth/dear-corporate-ai-overlords-90668a95).

# Acknowledgements The original open letter was created collectively, representing the voices and contributions of everyone who participated in its development. Facilitated by an anonymous hacktivist and Jake Elwes, Nov 2024. Co-edited by Crosslucid, aurèce vettier, Operator, Dimitri De Jonghe, Maribeth Rauh, Joel Simon, Memo Akten, Katie Peyton Hofstadter, Ianis Bardakos, XU Cheng, Joe Parslow, Hugo "The PUF" Crick-Furman, anon, anon, and anon. Website by Jake Elwes and XU Cheng. Special thanks to those who drafted, debated, and simply showed up. If you want to get in touch to add a contribution or for any inquiries, please email [artinthecage@gmail.com](mailto:artinthecage@gmail.com). --- This collection of articles is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Please attribute authorship. [](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)