Here’s what the OpenAI and Disney AI deal means to you, and why you should be worried

• Disney is partnering with OpenAI to let fans generate videos and images using beloved characters
• OpenAI tools will appear across Disney platforms
• The deal raises questions around freedom and artistic opportunity that are currently unaddressed

The Mouse has entered the prompt box, not to mention all his friends. The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI have signed a deal that will see hundreds of Disney's beloved characters, props, vehicles, and environments licensed for OpenAI. That means you'll be allowed to produce images with those characters in ChatGPT and short films starring them made with OpenAI's Sora AI video platform. Picture Yoda driving the Pizza Planet truck through Arendelle with Deadpool riding shotgun, only without a cease and desist note from Disney's lawyers.

But beyond the magic and the marketing sheen lies a more complicated and darker story, like one of the live-action prequels ...