Open AI officially hitting a $500 billion valuation amid a flurry of new product and deal announcements today,

including the launch of its AI video app SORA, which is already facing some backlash online.

For that, we'll turn to McKenzie Sagalos in today's tech check.

Hi, Mac.

Hey, Carl. So Open AI has a habit of releasing new products the moment arrival moves.

And this week, it is video.

On Tuesday, the company unveiled SORA 2, along with its first video generation app,

a TikTok-style feed where users can create short clips using text or image prompts.

Now, it is a crowded field.

Meta launched vibes last week.

Google has V-O-3, bite dance has C-dance,

and Alibaba is in the mix, too. Against this backdrop, SORA 2 marks a major leap for OpenAI.

Sora 1 was underwhelming, but the new version is going viral, thanks to deep-fake style clips that

look strikingly real. The one we're showing now is of CEO Sam

Altman shoplifting GPUs. Others feature cartoon characters from Pokemon and Nickelodeon in

disturbing roles. Critics are questioning whether Open AI is repeating an old pattern,

racing ahead of the guardrails. The company insists it has robust safety systems in place

like strict content moderation

and hard bans on explicit material.

But users have already shown it is possible to bypass those guardrails.

Altman meanwhile is brushing off the backlash, saying yesterday in a post on X that this

is partly a play for commercial momentum to pay for its larger AGI ambitions.

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