Sora is the new artificial intelligence tool from OpenAI, to which we already owe ChatGPT and Dall-E. Specializing in the creation of videos, it received a name inspired by Japanese – this, in order to highlight its faculties in the generation of sometimes ultra-realistic sequences.
The event of mid-February 2024 in the artificial intelligence sector was undeniably the presentation of Sora, the new generative tool from the American company OpenAI. It largely overshadowed the other big announcement, much to Google’s dismay. The web giant had just presented the new version of Midjourney.
Sora’s specialty lies in creating videos. Like ChatGPT, it works from an instruction (the “prompt”) given by the Internet user to achieve a result. But, while the conversational agent also responds in writing, Sora generates a 60-second video clip. The tool caused a stir when it was unveiled.
Today, it is impossible to freely access Sora. The platform was barely opened to a handful of hand-picked people — directors, artists, designers, but also experts in the field of AI. in order to detect dangers or risks “. It is unknown if and, if so, when Sora will be open to everyone.
The symbolism of the immensity of the sky
What it is possible to know, however, is the origin of Sora’s name – in the absence of being able to manipulate the tool. The explanation does not appear on the official OpenAI website, but the New York Times has learned the team’s motivation: it is to suggest that this generative artificial intelligence is “limitless”.
For this, OpenAI drew on the Japanese lexicon and retained “Sora”, the French translation of which gives heaven (or paradise). Its ideogram is written 空 (そら in hiragana). Empty is also an accepted translation, depending on the context. Another ideogram, 天, also means sky (pronounced “Ten”, or テン in hiragana).
In its February 15 edition, the American newspaper explains that the team wanted “ evoke the idea of unlimited creative potential “. There is, in short, no ceiling above our heads. Nothing blocks the view or the inspiration, and the immensity of the firmament can be understood as an infinite field of possibilities.
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