Definition: Sora AI

A generative AI system from OpenAI that creates videos up to a minute in length from a text description. Introduced in 2024, but dropped in 2026 to free up datacenter time, Sora AI was available both paid and free. Sora AI Free restricted the length of the description (unlike the example below) and results were more limited.

Costly and Too Much Crap
In its first week, Sora was downloaded a million times and nearly 10 million in total. However, usage dropped considerably later on and OpenAI's daily cost to maintain the software became prohibitive. In addition, Sora was also used to generate disinformation as well as for revenge videos to harass or belittle someone.

The April 10, 2026 issue of The Week Magazine said "the end of Sora does not mean there is no demand for video generators, but it does mean that the overwhelming use case for AI video generators continues to be what it has always been: people making porn, nonconsensual sexual imagery, disinformation and low-level slop at scale." See AI video generator and AI slop.

The Prompt for this Video is...

This is the background of a Sora video from the description "a woman walking down a Tokyo street filled with warm glowing neon and animated city signage. She wears a black leather jacket, long red dress, black boots and carries a black purse. She wears sunglasses and red lipstick. She walks confidently and casually. The street is damp and reflective, creating a mirror effect of the colorful lights. Many pedestrians walk about." (Image courtesy of OpenAI.)