OpenAI announced Thursday it paused the ability for users to generate videos resembling the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. using its AI video model, Sora. The company says it’s adding this safeguard at the request of Dr. King’s estate after some Sora users generated “disrespectful depictions” of his image.

“While there are strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures, OpenAI believes public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used,” OpenAI said in a post on X from its official newsroom account. “Authorized representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos.”

Statement from OpenAI and King Estate, Inc.

The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.) and

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