Chinese tech companies are racing ahead with artificial intelligence tools that can turn text into short videos. The public release of a handful of AI video generators from big companies and start-ups aims to show how the country is narrowing the gap with the U.S.
when it comes to the technology. But they are simultaneously opening a Pandora’s Box, allowing anyone to create short clips from almost any prompt they can imagine. I tried some out.
They wouldn’t give me any videos of Xi Jinping breakdancing, but one did make a clip from my headshot that removed my jacket and shirt when I was testing what these could potentially be used for. While the videos were not always high quality, I was still ultimately left feeling sorry for a generation of girls and young people who are growing up with this technology so easily accessible. In recent weeks, internet giant Kuaishou Technology released its AI video tool Kling; start-up Zhipu AI launched Ying; TikTok parent-company ByteDance Ltd.
unveiled Jimeng; and start-up Shengshu AI, with help from Tsinghua University, launched Vidu. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is also reportedly working on its own AI video-generating application.
The rush to offer these services to the Chinese public stands in stark contrast to firms in the U.S. OpenAI teased a first look at its video-generating tool, Sora, in February, but has yet to publicly release it.
Google’s Veo is only available to a handful of select creators and testers via a waitlist at th.