OpenAI’s Sora video generation tool was hailed as a breakthrough when it was introduced in 2024. Journalists called it “jaw-dropping,” especially in its later versions. Disney signed a multiyear deal with OpenAI for Sora to use its characters.

But on Tuesday, OpenAI canceled Sora. One view is that this is evidence of AI getting overhyped, and OpenAI is retreating from an area in which it had failed to find success and fallen behind competitors like Google and ByteDance. It’s being trotted out as an example of how AI is not living up to its promise.

I have a different view.