Brian Cranston voice, likeness used without consent to train Sora video generation tool

Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston expressed outrage after discovering that his voice and facial likeness were used without permission to train OpenAI’s Sora video generation model, resulting in the company strengthening its safeguards. What happened Unauthorised AI-generated clips using Cranston's voice and likeness appeared on the Sora app, including a video appearing to show late pop star Michael Jackson taking a selfie with Walter White, Cranston’s character from “Breaking Bad". After talks with actors' union SAG-AFTRA and Cranston, OpenAI said it would strengthen guardrails around unapproved AI-generated content and stated is committed to “responding expeditiously to any complaints it may receive” i n a statement with the union. At launch, the AI company had said IP rightsholders must opt-out of having their content be used in Sora, later updating their policy to allow them “more granular control over generation of characters.” Why it happened Cranston's voice and likeness was used in Sora because OpenAI relied on large datasets that included publicly available media, and had few safeguards in place to protect against the system producing unauthorised imitations of celebrities and copyrighted content. Despite claiming the Cranston incident was an "unintentional generation", OpenAI is widely seen as having deliberately ignored the interests of rightsholders when it launched Sora 2 in a bid to get the app to market quickly, increase awareness, and make money. The company's initial policies did not fully prevent the use of people's likenesses or voices unless they explicitly participated in the platform's "cameos" feature, which requires permission. However, the voice and likeness data of Cranston appeared in content accessed via the Sora app despite his lack of consent. What it means For actors, the case highlights the loss of control over their own image and voice in the era of generative video, and r ais es significant concerns over consent, intellectual property rights, and the actual or potential misuse of their identities. It also fuels ongoing industry anxiety about AI’s role in replacing human talent and undermining creative livelihoods. For the broader public and creative sector, it highlights serious ethical and legal gaps around AI training data, and intensifies calls for robust consent-based regulation and new protections for digital identity. System 🤖 Sora Developer: OpenAI Country: USA Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts Purpose: Create video Technology: Generative AI; Machine learning; Text-to-video Issue: Accountability; Autonomy/agency; Copyright; Employment; Personality rights; Transparency Resources 📃 SAG-AFRTA. SAG-AFTRA, OpenAI, Bryan Cranston Collaborate to Ensure Voice and Likeness Protections in Sora 2

Date it happened

2025-01-01

Product, system or model

Sora

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