Disney makes $1 billion investment in OpenAI, sends iconic characters to the slophouse

Get ready for fan-made AI slop on Disney Plus

Remember earlier this year when a bunch of Disney characters and civil rights activists were being puppeteered on social media by generative AI prompts? Disney sent a cease-and-desist to Character.ai, accusing the platform of ripping off its copyrighted characters in what, at the time, seemed like the latest push by studios to protect their IP. Turns out, Disney just wanted a better deal. The company announced plans on Dec. 11 to bring over 200 of its characters to OpenAI's video platform, Sora.

Disney will invest $1 billion in the ChatGPT creator as part of a three-year licensing agreement. “Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that can be viewed and shared by fans,” according to OpenAI, some of which will be curated and available to stream on Disney Plus.

Some of these licensed characters include, “Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba, Mufasa, as well as characters from the worlds of Encanto, Frozen, Inside Out, Moana, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Up, Zootopia, and many more; plus iconic animated or illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters like Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers, Yoda and more,” according OpenAI's official statement.

Disney and OpenAI say they’re committed to responsible use of AI that safeguards users and respects creators’ rights — an acknowledgment that, in the wrong hands, the tech and its characters could become dangerous, or at the very least misleading. (OpenAI recently had to block all depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. from Sora, but we're sure nothing will go wrong with the Black Panther.)

Disney will also use OpenAI's technology to build new products, tools, and experiences.

“Technological innovation has continually shaped the evolution of entertainment, bringing with it new ways to create and share great stories with the world,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works. Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”

This marks a major turning point in Hollywood’s investments in AI. Although some creators, like James Cameron, have come out to say they’d never use the technology to create films, the companies those filmmakers work for see it differently. Tools like Sora also give Disney a way to create content for its streaming service with no pushback from artists (and no salaries, either). By tapping fan ideas and letting AI do the rest, Disney could produce endless AI slop and then charge fans to watch creations inspired by their own input on Disney Plus.