Disney makes $1 billion investment in OpenAI, sends iconic characters to the slophouse

Remember earlier this year when a bunch of Disney characters and civil rights activists were being puppeteered on social media by generative AI prompts? Disney sent a cease-and-desist to Character.ai, accusing the platform of ripping off its copyrighted characters in what, at the time, seemed like the latest push by studios to protect their IP. Turns out, Disney just wanted a better deal. The company announced plans on Dec. 11 to bring over 200 of its characters to OpenAI’s video platform, Sora.