YouTube recently unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) features for creators on its Shorts platform. These features utilize Google’s DeepMind video-generation model and are aimed at enhancing creators’ content production capabilities.
Known as Veo, these features enable creators to integrate AI-generated backgrounds into their videos and generate six-second clips using written prompts. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan expressed hope that these tools will facilitate the creation of more Shorts videos aided by AI. Speaking at the Made on YouTube event in New York, Mohan emphasized that the AI enhancements are designed to accelerate and streamline creative processes.
Veo’s AI-generated backgrounds represent an advancement over a similar feature introduced by YouTube in 2023 called Dream Screen. The company plans to roll out the AI background feature later this year, with the six-second AI clips expected to be available by 2025.
During the event, additional announcements included new features in the YouTube Studio app. These features will allow creators to employ AI for generating video titles, thumbnails, and ideas. YouTube indicated that these updates will start rolling out in late 2024.
The use of generative AI technology by creators is gaining momentum, with many using it to embed clips into their videos or to create entirely AI-generated content. However, there are concerns among some creators about their videos being utilized to train the AI models that power Veo. Comedian Thomas Simons, a YouTube creator with over 15 million subscribers, expressed his reservations about the increasing role of AI in content creation.
Criticism has also been directed at other platforms like Facebook, which have been accused of being flooded with spammy, AI-generated content. There are concerns about potential violations of intellectual property protections by AI-generated content as well.
In response, YouTube has committed to watermarking AI-generated content and labeling it clearly to indicate its origin. The company maintains that generative AI offers a new dimension to the creator economy, providing creators with access to advanced tools usually reserved for large language models.
Mohan stated, “We really sit at the nexus of that technology and creativity,” and highlighted that the combination of these elements is aimed at enhancing human creativity.
For further information, viewers are directed to watch a related video on how YouTube outpaced Netflix and Disney in the streaming wars.
