Open AI Halts Use Of MLK Jr. Deepfakes Indefinitely

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research and development company behind ChatGPT, officially shut down the use of Martin Luther King Jr. deepfakes. “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,” the company and King’s estate said in a joint statement posted to X.

The request to remove these “disrespectful depictions” came at the behest of Bernice A. King, the youngest child of King. Prior to this, several deepfake videos of King had begun circulating on social media. “While there are strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures,” the statement continues. “OpenAI believes public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used.”

“While Daddy was a public figure, he was not an elected official,” Bernice King, the youngest child of the late civil rights leader, said

Back in September, the controversial tech company launched “Sora 2.” The app allows users to create hyperrealistic AI-generated video content. Prior to this recent move, there had been no clear policy against generating videos of deceased individuals. That said, the company has since established a policy allowing authorized representatives to request protection for a public figure’s likeness.

“While Daddy was a public figure, he was not an elected official, and his image is not public domain. He was a private citizen. Further, in the United States, about half the states recognize post-mortem right of publicity laws that let estates inherit and control a deceased person’s name, image, or likeness,” King said. “For me, many of the AI depictions never rose to the level of free speech. They were foolish.”