Why OpenAI's new 'character cameos' are a smart play (www.businessinsider.com)

OpenAI added "character cameos" to Sora, letting users turn pets or inanimate objects into starring AI-generated video characters without performing the full facial scan required for human subjects. Instead of a biometric face capture, Sora can build an avatar from images already in your camera roll and animate that pet or object in short, TikTok-style clips. The move is positioned as a creative, low-friction way to make shareable content—think superhero cat or talking avocado—while keeping onboarding simple and playful. The change is strategic: it leans into internet culture’s appetite for viral pet content while sidestepping many likeness and IP headaches that dogged Sora early on (notorious examples included unauthorized and upsetting portrayals of copyrighted and historical figures). Technically, the feature lowers privacy friction by avoiding face scans and reduces exposure to big-media legal risk, potentially accelerating adoption and engagement—Sora already climbed to No. 2 on Apple’s free app chart. That said, creators should still expect content controls and IP guardrails (don’t try to make your pet an Avenger), and the update highlights how product design can balance creative capability with legal and ethical constraints in generative video.