#119 OpenAI Sora vs. TikTok: Can “AI Entertainment” Fund the Compute Bill?

Never a dull moment with the More or Less squad: Jessica questions whether Sora is just a novelty or the start of an AI-native social economy, arguing OpenAI needs its own device to escape current platform limits. Brit calls it “Vine meets MySpace,” highlighting its cameo mechanic as a creator tool that could outpace Meta’s AI video. Dave says Sora only needs to be entertaining and pitches OpenAI’s real graph play: embedding ChatGPT in group chats. Sam compares Sora to Truth Social, not Instagram, arguing power and narrative—not unit economics—drive the AI capex boom. The squad also touches on the “dead internet theory,” the importance of context over data, and the limits of LLM understanding, with side notes on Swifties and always-on AI wearables.Chapters:04:59 What is Sora? The Vine meets MySpace take
06:40 Early Sora product gaps: identity, friending, moderation
07:37 Creator utility vs novelty: will people care
09:51 Sora is Truth Social, not Instagram; Sam is Tom
11:20 Power vs ownership: modern mercantilism in AI14:03 Loose on copyright, tight on moderation—the 2x2
16:36 Production value is a false god
17:59 What is AI slop? Dead internet theory primer
20:16 Idealized ideas: vibe-coded pitches fool no one
22:18 Does entertainment alone create an economy
26:05 If you ran OpenAI, what would you build
28:39 The obvious social graph: ChatGPT in your group chats
30:53 Why OpenAI needs a device: voice multitasking plus identity UX
34:31 Context is king; models know nothing about you
36:19 Don’t sell your data; keep your context moat
38:02 Sutton vs LLMs: prediction without understanding
43:22 AI capex as narrative: Chinese housing and ’99 fiber analogiesWe’re also on ↓X: twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: instagram.com/moreorlessYouTube: youtu.be/tDsh5VdoTpcConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: x.com/brit