“South Park” is known for pushing the envelope, but the latest episode has been described as “nightmare fuel” by fans online.
In what may be one of the most disturbing episodes of the year, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone explore how easy it is to create AI-generated videos, and how easy it is for some people to fall in love with them or become convinced that the real videos are fake.
Conversation about Wednesday's episode largely revolved around how President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are depicted having sex. They tell reporters that the leaked video of their affair was a fake created with the help of Sora 2latest version of OpenAI video generator.
In the same episode, entitled “Sora, Not Sorry”, the South Park kids create revenge porn videos, using Sora as a means to get back at each other. Butters creates an explicit video of Red with Santa Claus, and then an equally explicit video featuring Butters and Totoro from Classic Studio Ghibli “My neighbor Totoro.”
Then chaos ensues as kids frantically make AI-generated videos featuring famous (and copyrighted) animated characters. The South Park police are stunned by the videos, believing them to be real.
Droopy Dog, Rocky, Bullwinkle, Popeye, and even beloved preschooler Bluey are mentioned or appear in this episode. Representatives from Studio Ghibli also appear, offering a voice of reason in the madness, saying, “You can't just do whatever you want with someone else's intellectual property.”
This echoes Studio Ghibli's real-life reaction to Sora 2, claiming that OpenAI likely used its content and other Japanese art as machine learning data. Content Overseas Distribution Assn., an anti-piracy organization representing Japanese intellectual property owners, published letter said in late October that the organization believed OpenAI's actions “may constitute copyright infringement.” CODA demanded that OpenAI stop using Japanese content for machine learning and asked the company to “sincerely” respond to copyright infringement claims.
According to Sora's latest update, released in late September, it is “more physically accurate, more realistic, and more controllable than previous systems.” OpenAIas well as synchronized dialogue and sound effects.
The company sparked a backlash when it released the new version because it operated under a system in which intellectual property owners had to opt out of the app, meaning users could create videos featuring popular actors, characters, voices and images until copyright holders made an opt-out request.
Unauthorized deepfakes of celebrities, dead figures and copyrighted characters began to spread rapidly, including videos of Robin Williams, Michael Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. in what the company called a “disrespectful portrayal of Dr. King's image.” OpenAI and King's Estate released joint statement in October said the app would block the ability to create generations featuring King because the company was “reinforcing barriers against historical figures.”
After numerous Hollywood studios and agencies expressed their dissatisfaction with this policy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman blogged that the artificial intelligence company will give copyright holders “more granular control over character creation, similar to the likeness consent model but with additional controls.”
Some studios have expressed interest in the user-generated content space, with Disney CEO Bob Iger saying during a recent earnings call that the company was in “productive discussions” with unnamed artificial intelligence companies in an attempt to reach an agreement that also “reflects our need to protect intellectual property.”
Back at South Park Elementary School, as a battle over disturbing AI-generated videos rages on, Kyle wonders how legal it is to create this kind of content, especially with copyrighted characters. “Nothing is sacred, Kyle,” Butters tells him. “All you can do is fight fire with fire.”
This episode seems to focus on Parker and Stone's own frustration with their work being copied, as evidenced by the billionaire's line. Peter Thielwho also appears in this episode: “With Sora 2, I can make the South Park kid do anything.”
