Washed Out, a chillwave musician, recently released a music video for his latest song, “The Hardest Part,” which is the first entirely artificial intelligence-generated video created by OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora. The video follows a couple’s romance from high school through their adult lives, touching on scenes like a wedding, child-rearing, and eventual death. The video’s director, Paul Trillio, was inspired by the unique capabilities of AI technology, which allowed him to explore new ideas that wouldn’t have been possible with traditional filming or animation methods.
Sora, the AI model used to generate the music video, is not yet available to the public, but it can create videos up to a minute long based on text prompts. The technology has sparked both excitement and concern since OpenAI unveiled its hyper-realistic video-generation capabilities earlier this year. Some critics have questioned the creativity and emotional impact of using AI to create visual media, while others believe it opens up new possibilities for artists to explore innovative storytelling techniques.
Trillio, the video’s director, wanted to capture a dreamlike and hyperreal aesthetic with the Sora-generated video, rather than aim for realism. He believes that AI technology can supplement ideas that are beyond the realm of traditional creation methods, allowing for the exploration of surreal and unpredictable narratives. Washed Out, also known as Ernest Greene, feels that Sora helped bring the fictitious couple’s story to life in a nostalgic and emotionally resonant way that he believes could only be achieved with AI technology.
The rise of generative AI technology in creative industries has raised concerns about how it may impact the work and livelihoods of real-life artists and producers. Some view AI tools as a way to democratize creativity and enable artists with lower budgets to pursue ambitious projects. However, there are ongoing debates and legal challenges surrounding issues like copyright infringement and ownership of AI-generated content, with some artists advocating for protections against unauthorized use of AI models.
The use of AI in creating music and visual media has been met with mixed reactions from artists and industry professionals. While some see it as a valuable tool for innovation and experimentation, others worry about its potential impact on the future of artistic expression and the labor of creatives. Trillio remains optimistic about the creative possibilities that AI technology can offer to artists, emphasizing the importance of using it as a supplementary tool rather than a replacement for traditional artistic methods. As the boundaries between human creativity and machine-generated content continue to blur, the conversation around the role of AI in the creative process is likely to evolve in the coming years.
