I Tried YouTube’s AI Video Generator and Got Scared
This week Google added Veo 2 to YouTube Shorts and wow, this article is already complete gibberish. Let me back up.
YouTube Shorts are a knockoff of YouTube TikTok. Veo2 is Google’s artificial intelligence tool for video creation. Starting this week, you can use this AI to create clips for YouTube Shorts. This innovative and revolutionary change will forever change the vertical videos that most people scroll through so they can find what they really want to watch.
According to the confusingly worded post, you can now create clips and add them to your short videos by simply typing a sentence. Anyone can create a short video directly from the YouTube mobile app, combining footage already saved on their phone or recording it directly. Now there’s a third option: creating terrifying footage using AI.
“Need a specific scene but don’t have the right material?” the post asks. “Simply use a text prompt to create a video clip that fits perfectly into your narrative, or create a whole new world of content.”
I can’t think of a place less appealing than “a whole new world of content.” The phrase itself conjures up images of digital purgatory, an endless void of content filler where the undeserving are sent after a life of passive consuming.
So naturally I wanted to try it.
I launched the YouTube app on my phone and found the feature to be a bit hidden. To create a clip, you’ll need to tap the Add button in the bottom left corner, and then—instead of clicking one of the photos or videos on your phone—click the Create button at the top of the screen. After that, you can enter an invitation and click Create .
You’ll see four thumbnails – tap one and the AI will create a clip for you. It will be added to your timeline, meaning you can edit it into the rest of your short video as you see fit.
I’ve played with this a few times, mostly with cats eating planets (I wanted to see that). The results weren’t particularly convincing from a cat or astronomical point of view—I’d say it was more like the feeling of a dream memory fading than an actual video recording—but I definitely ended up with a video that included the elements I described.
Another way to use these videos is as an animated background for your short videos. To do this, tap the down arrow in the toolbar to expand it, tap the Green Screen option, then tap AI Glitter in place of one of your photos. As before, you’ll be given four thumbnails to choose from—the one you choose will become the video. You can then record your conversation while the video plays in the background. Honestly, this seems like a worthy use of AI – a quick and disposable visual flash for a video that is also quick and disposable.
By the way, we have an article on how to hide short YouTube videos from your channel , just like probably every other website on the internet. I wonder why this is so?