Is Sora a money-making gimmick? Industry insiders advise caution.

Sora has not been publicly released, but are there already tutorials available? On February 15th, local time in the United States, OpenAI announced its artificial intelligence text-to-video model, Sora. According to the official website, Sora is an AI model capable of creating realistic and imaginative scenes based on textual descriptions. This news undoubtedly caused a significant impact, with some netizens believing that it could completely disrupt the entertainment industry. Currently, the model has not been made available to the public and is only accessible to a limited number of researchers to understand potential risks. It has also been shared with a small group of creative professionals to gather feedback on its practicality. OpenAI founder Sam Altman announced on social media on February 16th that red team testing has started, providing access to a limited number of creators. Where there is anxiety, there is a pain point; where there is a pain point, there is business. Although Sora is not yet officially open for use, it does not stop people from making money. It has been reported that some individuals are already selling tutorials and video AI prompts related to Sora online. On a certain e-commerce platform, tutorials and explanations about Sora are being sold ranging from a few yuan to nearly a hundred yuan. One product titled "SoraAI Text-to-Video Tool Latest Model" has sold more than 700 units with a price of 1 yuan. Another product titled "Latest Model AI Text-to-Video Technology Guide" has sold 14 copies at a price of 26.6 yuan. For a price of 9.9 yuan and 15 copies sold, the details of the "Sora Practical Manual - Monetization Methods Tutorial" include introducing Sora's features, advantages, demonstration cases, and monetization methods such as generating traffic, selling accounts, selling courses, and selling prompt words. Although there are many similar tutorials being sold online, the sales volume seems to be relatively low based on data from this e-commerce platform. Internal testing spots become popular trades, official reminder of potential scams Sora has not been officially released for public use, yet it has already sparked a scramble for internal testing spots on the internet. New things always arouse people's curiosity, and there are many who want to witness Sora's brilliance, which has become a business opportunity in the eyes of some. The internal testing phase of Sora is not yet complete, but many netizens claim to have obtained internal testing spots through various channels.On a certain second-hand trading platform, when searching for "Sora internal testing," various posts for "internal testing applications" appeared, with prices ranging from 0.01 yuan to 50 yuan. Many of them claim to only require providing a name and email, stating that they have successfully helped multiple people apply. Some netizens also reported that when they approached someone who claimed to have obtained an internal testing account, the person immediately asked for 299 yuan. In reality, according to insiders with testing privileges, Sora's testing accounts are only available to early paid users, with approximately 1,000 users obtaining these accounts through special applications. The conditions for using these accounts are extremely strict, requiring possession of a US credit card, US address, US registered computer device, and a non-host IP address. Failure to meet any of these conditions will result in an account suspension. However, the veracity of this information remains unknown. Sora has caused numerous chaos. As a result, Logan Kilpatrick, a developer and advocate for OpenAI, had to issue a warning. On February 17th, he indicated through his personal social media account that access to Sora has not been opened and that posts offering access permissions "may be a scam." Has artificial intelligence become a new money-making opportunity? From ChatGPT to Sora, it's common to profit from knowledge paid for using artificial intelligence. Recently, an image depicting "two AI giants" has been widely circulated on social platforms. The individuals in the picture are Sam Altman from OpenAI and Dr. Li Yizhou, who sells AI courses. Li Yizhou's WeChat video account, named "Li Yizhou," has sold a total of 33,000 courses. The currently available video course, "Everyone's Artificial Intelligence Course," is priced at 199 yuan and has sold nearly 600 copies. Additionally, on the "Everyone's Artificial Intelligence Course" mini-program, a course priced at 999 yuan has sold 217,000 copies. The course is taught by Li Yizhou, as shown in the poster. However, recent reports have claimed that a screenshot of a group chat allegedly shows Li Yizhou's AI practical training camp being disbanded by teaching assistants. The chat records indicate that the 199 yuan fee is only for the introductory course, and learners would need to purchase a 1,980 yuan course for further learning. Some netizens have also noticed that following Sora's popularity, the prices of related domain names have skyrocketed. The transaction price for the domain name sora.com has reached over 300,000 yuan. However, this domain name was registered as early as 1995 and was not snatched up as rumored. Industry insiders remind us that in the AI industry trend, there are indeed some businesses and individuals taking advantage of information asymmetry and consumer anxiety to launch low-quality or false products in order to make profits. We should remain rational, keep our eyes open, avoid blindly following the trends or trusting advertising, and be cautious about becoming "gullible investors."OpenAISoraArtificial IntelligenceText generation modelClosed beta slotsBusiness opportunitiesKnowledge monetizationSocial platform.