Meta Platforms Inc. has presented a new artificial intelligence tool that is designed to generate and edit videos.
The mentioned technology giant’s new product is called Movie Gen. The company said that this artificial intelligence tool can generate videos based on a simple text prompt from the user. It is worth noting that the specified feature is highly likely to ensure a high level of competitiveness for Movie Gen. Currently, competition in the artificial intelligence industry is on a growth trajectory. The corresponding state of affairs and the dynamic of its amplification are largely natural, since AI is the advanced technology of the present historical moment, as a result of which interest in digital thinking systems is intensively scaled. The number of players in the area of machine intelligence is gradually increasing. Currently, Meta’s main competitors in the artificial intelligence technology development sector are OpenAI and Google.
Movie Gen can generate videos up to 16 seconds long based on a text prompt from the user. Also, this artificial intelligence tool can apply the mentioned prompts to generate audio or edit existing videos. Separately, it is worth noting that Movie Gen can create a customized video with a real person depicted in the photo.
Movie Gen is currently available only to some internal Meta employees and several external partners, including filmmakers. It is also currently known that the technology giant intends to introduce a new artificial intelligence tool into apps, which are part of its digital ecosystem. In this case, virtual platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are mentioned. It is expected that the new artificial intelligence tool will be available to users of the mentioned digital platforms next year.
The media also reported that Meta executives continue to discuss the best options for integrating Movie Gen into apps, which are components of the company’s existing virtual ecosystem.
The goal of the new artificial intelligence tool is to encourage more people to generate or edit video posts. The corresponding statement was made by Connor Hayes, a Meta vice president focused on Gen AI products. According to him, it will be fun to use, helpful for creators, and good for overall engagement in the apps, but Meta doesn’t have a concrete product plan of what it will look like at this point.
It’s worth noting that Movie Gen is part of the tech giant’s broader plan to introduce generative artificial intelligence. Meta uses huge amounts of data to train AI tools that are capable of automatically generating new texts, audio, or video. Over the past few years, the company has spent billions of dollars on artificial intelligence technologies. As part of the related efforts, the Meta AI chatbot has been integrated into most of the apps included in the technology giant’s digital ecosystem. This chatbot can answer users’ questions and interact with them in a conversation.
Meta, which has the status of a giant in the social media industry, is one of many large technology companies that are implementing artificial intelligence models focused on video generation. The mentioned AI models are more complex and expensive compared to those digital products of similar functional purpose that return AI-generated text.
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, also has an artificial intelligence tool designed to generate videos. This tool, which debuted in the current year, is called Sora and can generate videos up to a minute long. It is worth noting that the mentioned technology is not yet available to a wide user audience. DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google, also has a tool with a similar functional purpose called Veo. This digital product debuted in 2024.
Meta sees Movie Gen as a significant move forward in its efforts in the area of artificial intelligence. To a large extent, the corresponding concept of perception is associated with the high level of efficiency of this technology. It is worth noting that currently, such virtual products generate video based on text prompts mainly within tens of minutes. For ordinary users, this is too long a period. It is also worth noting that consumers apply similar digital tools mainly on smartphones.
Connor Hayes stated that Meta also solves many important issues related to safety and responsibility. He noted that as part of the relevant efforts, the technology giant’s attention is focused on how to form such a practice of using a new artificial intelligence tool in the context of handling personalized videos so that consumers cannot generate inappropriate or unflattering content involving another person. In his opinion, this problem is likely to be the most important. Connor Hayes also stated that the technology giant intends to cope with the corresponding task before the personalization capabilities become available to a wide range of users.
It’s worth noting that in the past similar technologies were used to generate deepfakes. As part of the relevant practice, which is as far away as possible from a conscientious approach to applying artificial intelligence, content was generated that featured such famous people as, for example, President of the United States Joe Biden and pop star Taylor Swift. Meta is currently working to watermark similar content so that people know that they have been presented with information materials created by artificial intelligence.
Nowadays, the development of AI is a priority area of activity for the technology giant. Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly characterized artificial intelligence as a driving force for user and revenue growth. In his opinion, in the short term, AI will improve algorithms for Meta content. In this case, it is assumed that applying artificial intelligence will form a practice in which virtual platforms will offer users more relevant posts and advertisement materials.
Also, according to Mark Zuckerberg, AI will play an even greater role in powering apps and futuristic wearable devices produced by the company he heads, for example, smart glasses. Moreover, it was stated that last month the number of Meta AI users was almost 500 million. It is worth noting that this chatbot is also available as a voice assistant in a pair of Ray-Ban smart glasses developed by the technology giant. More advanced augmented reality glasses called Orion are currently in the prototype stage and include several artificial intelligence-based features.
Against the background of the active development and spread of AI, the issue of ensuring security in cyberspace has become more relevant. Fraudsters who carry out their activities in the digital environment also have access to artificial intelligence technologies, which is why their methods have become more sophisticated. The above-mentioned deepfakes are one example of the use of AI for manipulation and deception, including, in some cases, aimed at obtaining illegal financial benefits. To counter these threats, personal awareness of users is important. For example, a query in an Internet search engine, such as how to know if my camera is hacked, will allow anyone to get information about signs of unauthorized access to the device.
