The world of “artificial intelligence” is moving very quickly. Faster than most can likely keep up with it. There are two sides to the coin, which I’ll discuss briefly below, but the big new here is that Google Gemini now has more powerful video generation abilities through VEO 3 here in Ireland.
Google Gemini VEO 3 in Ireland
Google AI Pro subscribers in Ireland can now access advanced video generation through their Gemini subscription in the Google Gemini app and online. Subscribers simply have to type in what they want and tap the video option in the app’s toolbar. In just a few minutes, Gemini, using the VEO 3 engine, will generate an incredibly realistic video based on your input. The video is limited to 720p and landscape, 16:9 ratio. Which isn’t ideal for social media, to be fair.
However, in what is a significant leap forward for the platform, VEO 3 now also layers in sound.
As you can see above, I’ve been playing around with this and have to say it’s remarkable. For this video, I simply typed, “Create a video of a person parking their tractor up for the day and walking into a pub called The Gander Inn”.
The result is astonishing. What I’m most impressed with is the camera angle change. There are some artifacts which are impossible to ignore, but seeing the man walk out just has the angle changes is amazing. You could argue the scene doesn’t make sense, with him walking out and back in, but maybe he forgot his phone or just wanted another pint.
The key here is that a simple prompt generated a very realistic video, and that more complex prompts will generate better quality content that makes more sense. Or less if that’s your vibe.
For this next clip, I used AI itself to help craft the prompt, adding an extra layer of thinking to the process and ensuring nothing got missed. I asked AI, “I want a veo 3 prompt that shows the power of veo launching in Ireland. I’m thinking something like a man running through a field of sheep, like a sheepdog. There’s an actual sheepdog sitting on a quad, like a farmer would be. The man is running like a sheepdog, barking and rounding up the sheep, impressing his dog on the quad bike.”
A small insight into how my mind works. AI then gave me the brief in full, which I pasted into Gemini with VEO 3 video selected. This was the result:
It’s obviously quite silly, but the content distracts from the fact it’s been AI-generated. The ridiculous outweighing the reality. But I’m looking for where it breaks down from being possibly a real video shot in a real field. And there are very few frames in there, like this.
Often, people will point out the flaws in generative content like this, but all I can see is how far it’s come in such a relatively short period of time. Videos have come from being utterly unusable to be nearly unnoticeably AI-generated.
The videos are ultra realistic. I often find myself spotting just one frame of object that gives it away before noticing other elements that show it as AI. But this is a massive improvement from where it was not that long ago. Which leaves the two sides of the coin I was talking about.
The Brilliant Power of Generative AI Video
As a content creator, this is empowering technology. I know that there’s going to be a day when I’m working on a video where there’s some sort of b-roll or panning shot of a landscape that the video would greatly benefit from. In fact, it’s a nearly never ending number of scenarios I could see this being useful in.
This technology, while not free, is unbelievably accessible for the quality it puts out. For those seeking to create content, it’s a very powerful tool.
But as the old adage goes, with great power comes great responsibility. I would never use AI-generated video for a crucial shot, or a shot demonstrating a product – because that’s just not real.
And this brings us to the flip side of the coin.
The Terrifying Power of Generative AI Video
Just as it’s exciting to see technology like this become accessible, it’s also terrifying. While I have no doubt that Google has baked in numerous safeguards to reduce the ability of extreme groups generating videos for negative use, it’s almost certain some will get through.
In fact, the simple existence of AI-generated video comes with the real risk that people either fooled by fake content, or cease to believe real content because it could be faked, even when real.
I encourage you to watch this great piece on “AI slop” that featured recently on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
It’s important that you are aware of what can be created by AI and start to educated yourself on how to be more critical of this type of content. Actually, you should be critical of every piece of content you consume, regardless of source.
Realistically, anyone who is against AI is fighting a losing battle. There are some very good arguments against the technology because of how fast it’s developing and its impact on the environment. The answer isn’t trying to stop it any more because that horse has bolted. Now, we need to ensure that AI is used responsibly, sustainably and with the public being given the skills to both make the most of it, but also identify AI generated content when presented with it.
One such way to familiarise yourself with the technology is, when possible, try to use it and see what it comes up with. VEO 3 is available to all Google AI Pro subscribers. Normally €21.99 per month in Ireland, Google AI Pro includes other AI-powered tools such as NotebookLM and cloud storage and is also available on a one-month free trial. Note, you may hit some limits generating videos due to resource limits.
