Tag Archives: meta

Meta’s Answer to AI Media Startups: ‘Movie Gen’ Ready to Disrupt Film Making Now

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Meta has taken a major leap in artificial intelligence by announcing its latest AI model, Movie Gen. This cutting-edge tool is designed to generate realistic video and audio clips based on user prompts, putting it in direct competition with leading media generation platforms like OpenAI and ElevenLabs.

Movie Gen’s features go beyond just video creation. The AI can also produce background music and sound effects that synchronize with the video’s content. For example, in a demo, it added pom-poms to a man running solo in a desert scene. In another clip, it transformed a dry parking lot into a splashing puddle, enhancing footage of a skateboarder.

Meta’s new tool allows videos to run up to 16 seconds long, with audio extending to 45 seconds. The company claims Movie Gen holds its own against rivals like OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Runway, and Kling, all of which are pushing the boundaries of AI-generated media.

Meta Eyes Hollywood with Movie Gen

The introduction of Movie Gen comes as Hollywood explores the potential of generative AI in video production. Earlier this year, OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, introduced Sora, an AI that can generate movie-like clips from text descriptions, sparking excitement in the entertainment sector. However, concerns about AI systems trained on copyrighted material without permission have also been raised.

There’s growing anxiety about the misuse of AI-generated videos, especially deepfakes, in political campaigns. Incidents of such misuse have been reported in the U.S., India, Pakistan, and Indonesia, drawing attention from lawmakers worldwide.

Despite its powerful capabilities, Meta is unlikely to release Movie Gen widely for developer use, as it did with its Llama language models. Instead, Meta plans to collaborate closely with the entertainment industry and other creators, integrating the tool into its own suite of products next year.

The Road Ahead for AI in Media

Movie Gen was developed using a combination of licensed and publicly available datasets, marking a different approach from OpenAI, which has been in talks with Hollywood about partnerships for its Sora tool. So far, no formal agreements have been reported.

The unveiling of Movie Gen underscores the rapid advancements in AI technology, paralleling the release of OpenAI’s Sora earlier this year. Both innovations signal a transformative shift for industries ranging from filmmaking to politics, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in media creation.

Meta Takes Down 8,000 Scam Ads to Stem “Celeb Bait” Scams with Australian Banks

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has removed around 8,000 “celeb bait” scam ads as part of a new collaboration with Australian banks. These scams often use images of famous personalities, many of which are created by artificial intelligence, to deceive people into investing in fake schemes.

Meta acted after receiving 102 reports since April from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, an intelligence-sharing platform led by major banks. These scams are a global issue, but Australia is putting additional pressure on Meta to address the problem, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government plans to introduce a new anti-scam law by the end of this year.

The proposed law could impose fines of up to A$50 million (around ₹280 crore) on social media, financial, and telecom companies that fail to control these scams. Public consultation for the law ends on October 4.

Scam reports in Australia have surged by nearly 20% in 2023, with total losses reaching A$2.7 billion (₹15,000 crore), according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC previously sued Meta in 2022, accusing the company of not stopping fake cryptocurrency ads featuring celebrities like Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, and Nicole Kidman. It estimated that 58% of cryptocurrency ads on Facebook could be scams. Meta is currently contesting the lawsuit, which has yet to go to trial.

In addition, Meta is facing another lawsuit from Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest. Forrest alleges that Meta allowed the spread of thousands of fake cryptocurrency ads on Facebook using his image. He claims Australians have continued to lose money to these scams since he first warned Meta in 2019.

David Agranovich, Meta’s Director of Threat Disruption, said that the initiative with Australian banks is still in its early stages but is showing promise. “A small amount of high-value information is helping us identify larger scam activities,” he said during a media briefing.

When asked about Australia’s proposed anti-scam law, Agranovich said Meta is still reviewing the draft and will share more details later. Rhonda Luo, the Head of Strategy at the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, emphasized the importance of industry initiatives, saying, “It’s better to act early on scams rather than wait for regulations to take effect.”