Generative media is already giving startups a creative edge, and we’re moving toward a world of “vibe design,” where a founder will soon be able to bring their vision to life without the help of a coder or editor. If you can describe it, you will be able to build it with AI.
To understand this shift, we asked a group of startup founders, investors and thought leaders about their boldest predictions. What will these changes mean for startups? What innovative tools are startups already building? What will user experiences look like in the future thanks to AI? We share our findings in Google for Startups’ latest report, “Future of AI: Perspectives on generative media for startups.” Here are three predictions that stood out.
Videos replace static content.
As the cost of creating videos continues to drop, “static content will take a back seat,” says Victor Riparbelli, co-founder and CEO of Synthesia. He envisions training programs where 45-second videos replace long presentations, and B2B websites that use audio and video modules instead of plain text.
But these AI-generated videos, which can feel “soulless, generic and homogenous” at worst, will need human input if they’re going to resonate, says Grace Wang, co-founder and CMO of OpusClip. “Story’s judgement, taste and unique viewpoints become exponentially more valuable.”
This development will not only change how companies communicate, it will rewrite the rules of film production. As AI does more of the heavy lifting in production and execution, some “films will soon be made by individuals, similar to how a single person writes a book,” predicts Joaquín Cuenca Abela, co-founder and CEO of Magnific (formerly Freepik). While high-end films might have a team of 50, he believes that within three years, a startup with a story to tell but limited manpower will be able to generate long-form videos by leaning on AI.
Interfaces will evolve into extensions of the mind.
We could be moving towards a post-keyboard world where traditional interfaces and form factors can disappear. Grace Isford, a partner at Lux Capital, foresees a shift towards neural and brain-computer interfaces that intuit thoughts. “We’re starting to see some very interesting advances in brain-computer interfaces,” says Isford. “It’s a completely new modality that is able to intuit and interpret neural signals to then become an extension of your mind.”
The founders will be creative directors.
In the past, creative execution required specific design tools and the skills to use them, but “those traditional barriers to entry are rapidly dissolving,” says Jaclyn Konzelmann, director of product management at Google Labs. Generative media tools like Pomelli “will transform how [startups] create on-brand marketing assets.”
Sami Ede, a co-founder and senior researcher at Leonardo.Ai, sees a world where these assets go far beyond images and video. It may eventually be possible, he says, for haptics to simulate textures by dragging your finger across a touchpad. As the technology advances, AI-generated haptic patterns “could easily become part of a brand’s toolkit.”
Read the full Future of AI report for more insight into the evolution of generative media and more predictions from the founders as they envision the next wave of startups that will be powered by AI.