A time when generative media are gaining traction, and players like OpenAI and Runway are making rapid advances with synthetic video technologies, to change the landscape of creative industries, Google advanced itself by incorporating its video generation model into the Gemini Advanced platform. Google has now officially made its Veo 2 video-generating AI model available to users of Gemini Advanced, a $20 per-month premium AI subscription program. The move firmly establishes the tech giant in the unfolding generative video race, giving a suitable answer to OpenAI’s much-awaited Sora platform. It comes hot on the heels of Runway’s launch of the fourth generation of video generator and raised a $300 million boost in funding last week.
From Tuesday, subscribers could find Veo 2 in the model drop-down menu in Google Gemini. The tool allows users to create short videos of not more than eight seconds in 720p resolution, in 16:9 aspect ratio, with options to either download them in MP4 format or share them directly to platforms like YouTube and TikTok. SynthID, a watermarking technology from Google, is used to watermark all videos produced using Veo 2, which also has usage limitations on a per-month basis. For now, business and education customers on Workspace plan must be patient, since they are currently without access.
Integration of Veo 2 & Whisk
Veo 2 is integrated with another experimental image-to-image generator, Whisk, which resides in Google Labs. The Whisk Animate feature for users makes it possible to animate AI-generated images into eight second videos with Veo 2. Just like Veo 2, this Whisk Animate is behind the company’s AI Premium subscription of Google One.
At present, all applications seem very basic, but much bigger ambitions are set to deliver. Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind CEO, explained that the company has much bigger plans for Veo, as it intends to integrate it more closely with Gemini models in the future. It is a possible innovation for AI modeling, computational comprehension of the physical world, and ways that go beyond mere static text or image-based inputs.
Rising Ethical & Economic Queries
Veo 2’s public release lifts to a growing wave and adds up in the world of synthetic media, but it also causes more unrest among creative professions. With the approach of AI video into wider, enthusiastically available access and stronger functionality, the temptation of disruption in many creative professions increases. A recent 2024 study of the Animation Guild suggests over 100,000 jobs in film, television, and animation could likely suffer the hit through AI by 2026.
Whether Veo 2, as framed by Google, stands as the instrument for harnessing creativity and storytelling, artists have proven otherwise by still interpreting the product as yet another milestone toward automation of fields once based on human vision, skill, and craft. It will be interesting whether Veo 2 ends up as an innovation or a disruption, or maybe both. The answer lies in how it’s applied and the people who are fortunate enough to gain access to it.
