Sora becomes TikTok: how OpenAI plans to control your attention

Remember the days when we discussed Sora as a tool for Hollywood directors and advertising agencies? Forget it. OpenAI has just revealed its hand, and on the table lies a blueprint for a new social network, not merely advanced editing software. The published "feed philosophy" of Sora makes it clear: Sam Altman's company is building a full-fledged platform that will compete for your attention with TikTok and YouTube. This is a tectonic shift in strategy that transforms an AI lab into a media corporation with its own rules of the game.

After months of closed testing and ostentatious demonstrations in Los Angeles, OpenAI finally spoke about how ordinary people will consume this content. At its core lies the idea of an infinite feed. The company promises to "ignite creativity" and "strengthen connections," but behind these corporate formulations hides a classic algorithmic feed. OpenAI plans to use personalized recommendations to keep you inside the application for as long as possible. This is a logical, but no less ironic step: first they created technology capable of replacing human labor, and now they are creating an environment where this labor will be consumed automatically.

Special attention in the new strategy is devoted to safety and "protective barriers." Why would a video generator need parental controls? The answer is simple: Sora is preparing for mass market entry on smartphones. OpenAI recognizes what chaos uncontrolled generation of realistic video could cause, so it is introducing strict moderation at the foundation level. They are not simply handing you a brush; they are deciding exactly what you have the right to paint and who will see it. This is an attempt to create a "sterile" TikTok, where every pixel is checked by safety algorithms before it reaches the screen.

This approach solves OpenAI's main problem — monetization and legal liability. By creating a closed platform, they can control copyright and dictate terms to advertisers. If Sora once looked like a threat to Adobe, now it looks like a direct threat to Meta and ByteDance. Instead of fighting deepfakes on the open internet, OpenAI is creating its own "walled garden," where they set the rules. This is a classic market capture strategy: create a need, provide a tool, and become the sole owner of the platform for its use.

What does this mean for us? We stand on the threshold of an era when the news feed will consist not of what other people shot, but of what a neural network synthesized specifically for your dopamine receptors. OpenAI promises us a "safe experience," but in reality we get an even more sophisticated mechanism of addiction. The only question is whether we will want to watch perfect videos created by a machine if they retain not a shred of human imperfection. For now, the company is betting that the algorithm will be smarter than our aesthetic preferences.

The bottom line: OpenAI no longer wants to be just an "engine" inside other people's products. They are building their own media empire, where Sora is author, cameraman, and censor all in one. Is the world ready for a social network where there are no people, only endless hallucinations of a neural network?