OpenAI Unveils Sora: AI-Powered Video App for Social Media

Published Date : 6/10/2025 

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has launched Sora, a new social media app that generates AI videos. The app, available on Apple devices in the US and Canada, raises concerns about the authenticity and quality of content on social media platforms. 

If the future of the internet looks like a constant stream of amusing videos generated by artificial intelligence, then OpenAI just placed its stake in an emerging market. The company behind ChatGPT released its new Sora social media app on Tuesday (local time), an attempt to draw the attention of eyeballs currently staring at short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube, or Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook.

The new iPhone app taps into the appeal of being able to make a video of yourself doing just about anything that can be imagined, in styles ranging from anime to highly realistic. But a scrolling flood of such videos taking over social media has some worried about 'AI slop' that crowds out more authentic human creativity and degrades the information ecosystem.

'These things are so compelling,' said Jose Marichal, a professor of political science at California Lutheran University who studies how AI is restructuring society. 'I think what sucks you in is that they’re kind of implausible, but they’re realistic looking.'

The Sora app’s official launch video features an AI-generated version of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaking from a psychedelic forest, and later, the moon and a stadium crowded with cheering fans watching rubber duck races. He introduces the new tool before handing it off to colleagues placed in other outlandish scenarios. The app is available only on Apple devices for now, starting in the US and Canada.

Meta launched its own feed of AI short-form videos within its Meta AI app last week. In an Instagram post announcing the new Vibes product, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a carousel of AI videos, including a cartoon version of himself, an army of fuzzy, beady-eyed beings jumping around, and a kitten kneading a ball of dough. Both Sora and Vibes are designed to be highly personalised, recommending new videos based on what people have already engaged with.

Marichal's own social media feeds on TikTok and other sites are already full of such videos, from a 'housecat riding a wild animal from the perspective of a doorbell camera' to fake natural disaster reports that are engaging but easily debunked. He said you can't blame people for being hard-wired to 'want to know if something extraordinary is happening in the world.'

What's dangerous, he said, is when they dominate what we see online. 'We need an information environment that is mostly true or that we can trust because we need to use it to make rational decisions about how to collectively govern,' he said. If not, 'we either become super, super sceptical of everything or we become super certain.'

'We’re either the manipulated or the manipulators. And that leads us toward things that are something other than liberal democracy, other than representative democracy.'

OpenAI made some efforts to address those concerns in its announcement on Tuesday (local time). 'Concerns about doomscrolling, addiction, isolation, and (reinforcement learning)-sloptimised feeds are top of mind,' it said in a blog post. It said it would 'periodically poll users on their wellbeing' and give them options to adjust their feed, with a built-in bias to recommend posts from friends rather than strangers. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the Sora app?

A: Sora is a new social media app developed by OpenAI that generates AI videos. It allows users to create videos of themselves in various styles, from anime to highly realistic, and is available on Apple devices in the US and Canada.

Q: What are the concerns about AI-generated content on social media?

A: There are concerns that AI-generated content can crowd out more authentic human creativity and degrade the information ecosystem. This can lead to issues like 'AI slop' and the spread of misleading or fake information.

Q: How is OpenAI addressing these concerns?

A: OpenAI is addressing these concerns by periodically polling users on their wellbeing and giving them options to adjust their feed. The app also has a built-in bias to recommend posts from friends rather than strangers.

Q: What is the Vibes product by Meta?

A: Vibes is a new feature within Meta's AI app that provides a feed of AI-generated short-form videos. It is designed to be highly personalised and recommends new videos based on user engagement.

Q: What are the potential risks of AI-generated videos dominating social media?

A: The potential risks include the spread of misleading information, the degradation of the information ecosystem, and the erosion of trust in online content. This can lead to skepticism or manipulation, which can undermine democratic processes. 

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