Sora Creates Disturbing Pokimane Alter Ego, Lawyers Warn of Potential Legal Issues

On December 16, OpenAI introduced Sora, a cutting-edge AI tool that has already sparked significant debate among legal experts following its ability to generate strikingly realistic mimics of popular Twitch streamers, particularly Auronplay and Pokimane.

The emergence of this advanced AI marks a pivotal moment in technology, but the implications of its creations can be unsettling for many. Since its launch, users have rapidly begun to harness Sora’s capabilities to craft various gaming experiences, including a first-person shooter and a Mario-style platformer.

Moreover, Sora demonstrates an alarming proficiency in replicating Twitch streams. A notable instance was reported by TechCrunch, which showcased an impressively accurate simulation of Auronplay interacting with his audience, tattoos and all.

Sora’s Replication of Pokimane Raises Ethical Concerns

Another striking creation from Sora included a representation of Pokimane, which some observers found reminiscent of the trauma demon in Smile. While Sora’s rendition took certain artistic liberties, many viewers have found it to be unsettlingly uncanny.

TechCrunch study of Sora's version of Pokimane — Source: TechCrunch

TechCrunch utilized OpenAI’s Sora to recreate Pokimane’s Twitch streams.

This development raises serious potential legal concerns for OpenAI. According to copyright attorney Evan Everist from Dorsey & Whitney, Sora may be infringing on copyright laws, complicating the intersection of AI and intellectual property rights.

Everist elaborated, stating, “Videos of gameplay include at least two layers of copyright protection: the intellectual property of the game developer and the unique video content produced by the player during their play.” He noted that certain games may even involve a third layer of rights related to user-generated content within the software.

He warned, “If courts determine that training AI models lapses into copyright violation, each affected party could potentially pursue legal action or require licensing agreements. Consequently, developers working with such footage face exponentially increased legal risks.”

Pokimane engages with her YouTube audience — Source: YouTube – Nods

Pokimane has previously expressed concerns regarding the rise of AI streamers, describing it as “scary.”

During a stream in January 2023, Pokimane mused about the potential advancements in AI, stating, “What if someday we have streamers that evolve from ChatGPT? It’s kind of scary to be honest. To think you could have a genuine conversation with something like this… It feels as though if they released a version today, it might not be very advanced, but in the future, it could be incredibly sophisticated and very alarming.”

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