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AI Video: Hype Machine or Creative Catalyst?
What to do Now: Video Content Creation
AI hype’s latest darling is AI-powered video generation. Platforms like OpenAI's Sora promise to revolutionize content creation, turning text into stunning visuals with a click.
Before we all become blockbuster directors with an AI assistant, let's peep behind the curtain. While Sora's PR visuals are impressive, the reality is less cinematic.
Current realities include:
Content Piracy: AI models train on existing data, raising copyright infringement. Video content is not like photos or text. Way more data and likely more expensive to produce the original content. Plus this is a sequence, bringing together multiple sources of content.
How can we ensure AI-generated videos are original and done the right way (whatever that means to you)?
Storytelling Struggles: Crafting a gripping narrative demands more than visuals. Will AI grasp the nuances of human emotion and structure a captivating story? (Right now it’s not close, and you only get short snippets, not TED Talks).
Shorts for Short Term, Long Form down the road: AI video is good at short, social media-friendly clips. When will AI handle the complexity and depth needed for a TED Talk or even a 10-minute explainer video? Not anytime soon, this is a work in progress.
AI Video: Hype Bait or Holy Grail? Plunge the Depths
Remember those "driverless car" dream days of 2014, like it’s going to happen in a few years! And really only started happening in the last few years?
Yeah, that's AI video right now. Tools like Sora promise content creation nirvana, but before practicing your Oscar speech, let's hold our Teslas.
AI whips up visually stunning cat videos for TikTok. But a TED Talk? Not quite.
The emotional hooks, the narrative arc, the ability to weave a story – still human domains.
AI is like a kindergartner with a paintbrush: might surprise with a masterpiece, or just finger-paint abstract shapes (depends on the day).
The exciting part?
It’s no zero-sum game WHEN AI is a collaborator, not competitor.
You handle the big picture, the emotional resonance, the human touch.
AI whips up visuals, churns out transcripts, and tackles those editing tasks we secretly loathe (editing is a serious weak link. Few understand how creativity in editing makes powerful videos).
But there's a quirk in the code: who owns the content AI Video creates? Copyright concerns emerge, with AI potentially spitting out content suspiciously like your cat videos.
Bias is also ready to inject subtle prejudices into a supposedly objective documentary.
AI video is fascinating – still pack your critical thinking goggles and ethical compass.
Use it creatively, responsibly, playfully.
The future of content creation isn't just algorithms, it's the uniquely human stories we tell.
Don’t ditch your camera and hire a robot storyteller.
Consider AI as a part of your creative toolbox, not a replacement for the human touch.
What makes stories resonate? The audience connect the story to their own experiences.
Because they come from us, flawed and fascinating and rising from unique experience.
AI Video: What Makes Sense?
Makes Sense:
Short Social Media Clips:
Utilize tools like Minvo.pro or Invideo.io (GPT on ChatGPT) to automatically generate engaging snippets for platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Podcast Intros and Outros:
Employ Lumen5 to create, or Artlist to download, visually compelling intros and outros using AI, saving time, and enhancing production value.
Live Podcast Overlays:
Transcripts and Closed Captions:
AI-powered transcription services like Otter.ai, Slack and Substack, to easily create transcripts and closed captions, improving ease of use and SEO.
Experimentation and Learning: Give it a try.
Doesn't Make Sense (Yet):
Long Episodes:
Current AI Video struggle with long-form storytelling and complex narratives. Focus on human-driven content for full episodes, and intersperse AI video as shorter pieces, transitions, and special effects.
Replacing Human Editing:
While AI assists with editing, human oversight and creative input remain crucial for quality and consistency.
Guaranteed Copyright-Free Content:
Copyright concerns surrounding AI-generated content persist. Be transparent about sources.
Complex Animations or Visual Effects:
While AI is progressing in animation, intricate visuals require dedicated skills and software.
High Expectations for Accuracy:
AI is still under development, and outputs may contain factual errors or biases. Use critical thinking and verify facts and claims.
Bonus: Use catchy music, sound effects, and engaging intro/outro to keep your short-form episodes dynamic and attention-grabbing.
· Remember, tailor these titles and ledes to your specific style and audience to create compelling, informative, and entertaining episodes.
AI Video: A Work in Progress
Lumen5 Video Example
Invideo Video Example - same script as above
AI-powered video generation holds potential, but it's not magic, and not ready for most of us.
By combining human creativity, making sure you have permission for the content you mix in AI Video, and finding a way to watermark your own video, we can unlock the potential of AI video to empower storytellers and inspire content creation.
Still….as people we are terrible at predicting the future. Hoverboards are just fancy skateboards and jetpacks are limited to science fiction.
We get to indulge in some good old-fashioned future navel gazing, knowing that in 20 years, we'll be looking back with the same "how did we not see that coming?" as we do at past predictions.
Remember that time everyone thought self-driving cars would be everywhere by now?
At least we have self-driving vacuum cleaners, right? (Although, they have a tendency to get stuck under the couch.)
The next headline about AI video being the next big thing, take it with a grain of salt and a sprinkle of skepticism.
It will be a whole lot more interesting anything we’ve seen available before, even with inherent flaws…..us as the sources of content.
Future AI Navel Gazing And Guessing
So, where are we at, and where are we headed? Buckle up for a future-gazing ride:
The Next 5 Years: A Glimpse of What Might Be
Prospects:
Building trusts -- Ethical Guards: Advancements in data management and attribution safeguard against piracy, building trust (and value) in AI-generated content.
EI in AI? Narrative Ninjas: AI algorithms could learn from master storytellers, incorporating emotional intelligence and cultural nuances into their creations.
Short form disposable videos first, longer formats rely on story structures: Progress in natural language processing and content structuring enables AI to handle longer, more complex video formats.
Challenges:
The Bias Labyrinth: AI models reflect the biases present in their training data. Can we avoid continuing harmful stereotypes?
The Black Box Paradox: Make AI Video more transparent and accountable?
The Job Market Jolt: As AI automates content creation, how to reskill and upskill workers to adapt to this evolving landscape?
Resources:
OpenAI Sora:
Deepfakes and the Threat to Democracy: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/02/16/ai-deepfakes-crackdown-2024-elections/72616244007/
I'm not saying ditch your cameras and hire a robot storyteller.
Give it a try and see what makes sense, because video is central to content and communication in the upcoming years.
Ignoring AI video leaves you behind, overfocusing leaves you subject to early AI problems.
Patience, it is early days, and things will improve.
One best result of using AI video is understanding a little more about what it takes to invent, create, and edit a video that connects with your audience.
AI Video the Next Frontier? Promised Land or Mirage - You decide.