YouTube revealed new artificial intelligence-powered features on Wednesday, designed specifically for its Shorts creators, leveraging Google DeepMind’s advanced video-generation technology.

These tools, branded as Veo, will enable creators to enhance their videos with AI-generated backgrounds and create stand-alone, six-second video clips using written prompts. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan expressed optimism that Veo will help creators generate more engaging Shorts content with the support of AI-driven enhancements.

“Our goal with AI is to accelerate your creative process, making it more efficient and helping you bring your ideas to life faster,” Mohan said during the “Made on YouTube” event in New York.

The AI-generated Veo backgrounds represent an improvement over YouTube’s earlier AI feature, Dream Screen, introduced in 2023. While the Veo background feature is set to launch by the end of this year, the standalone six-second AI-generated video clips are expected to roll out in 2025.

In addition to Veo, YouTube also announced updates to its YouTube Studio app. These updates, set to launch in late 2024, will allow creators to harness AI for generating video titles, thumbnails, and even new content ideas, further streamlining the content creation process.

Many creators are already experimenting with generative AI, incorporating AI-driven clips into their videos or producing content that is entirely AI-generated. However, concerns have surfaced regarding the use of creators’ content to train these AI models.

Thomas Simons, a comedian with over 15 million subscribers, shared his skepticism: “I’m not sure how I feel about all this AI integration. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.”

Critics have raised issues about AI-generated content overwhelming platforms like Facebook with low-quality, spammy material. Others worry that AI-produced content may infringe on intellectual property rights. In response, YouTube confirmed that any AI-generated content will carry watermarks and labels to clearly indicate it was created by AI.

The rise of generative AI is reshaping the creator economy, providing access to sophisticated tools previously reserved for large-scale models.

“We stand at the crossroads of cutting-edge technology and human creativity,” Mohan emphasized. “Our goal is to merge the two, ensuring that everything we develop enhances the creative process for our users.”

Source