Hollywood Stunned by AI Surge as Tech Giants Push Boundaries Without Consent

Hollywood remains deeply uncertain about how to respond to the rapid rise of AI, as a stark divide emerges between Silicon Valley’s aggressive innovation and the entertainment industry’s paralysis. At OpenAI DevDay in San Francisco, Sam Altman positioned the new Sora video generation tool as a gift to creators, framing it as a modern evolution of fanfiction—empowering users to express creativity in new ways. He emphasized that creators and rights holders were largely excited about the potential, suggesting that AI could deepen human connection through storytelling. The next day, at Bloomberg’s Screentime event in Los Angeles, the mood was markedly different. Industry leaders, including studio heads, agents, and executives, were visibly uneasy. Sora had just hit 1 million downloads on the App Store, making it a dominant topic of conversation. Yet, despite the urgency, there was no coherent strategy in sight. Instead, the refrain “we care about copyright” echoed repeatedly—less as a policy statement than as a defensive mantra. No one at the event wanted to directly confront the elephant in the room: OpenAI trained Sora on vast amounts of copyrighted content without permission, and the tool’s release showed no hesitation in doing so. This lack of clarity or unified stance from Hollywood’s leadership is alarming. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters sidestepped a direct question about Sora, opting instead to discuss mundane, non-controversial uses of AI in production. Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison echoed this, likening AI to a “new pencil”—a helpful tool, but not a threat. The only executive to address the core issue was Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl, a former YouTube executive. He made it clear that Warner’s content would only be used for training with proper licensing, and that companies ignoring this would face consequences. His perspective reflects the music industry’s stronger, more unified approach to protecting intellectual property, shaped by past battles with streaming platforms. Kyncl believes AI could ultimately benefit music, much like YouTube evolved from a copyright battleground into a major distribution channel. That vision may hold true for music, but Hollywood as a whole lacks the same level of coordination. Without collective action, AI companies will continue to operate on a “ask forgiveness, not permission” model—using copyrighted material freely, releasing powerful tools, and only responding to backlash after the fact. OpenAI’s approach to Sora was not an oversight but a calculated move, following a playbook long used by tech giants to dominate new markets. In this race, Hollywood’s hesitation may cost it dearly.