Following in the footsteps of the likes of Kling and Sora, TikTok is jumping on the AI video trends, launching a filter called AI Alive.
This filter allows users to turn static photos into video through the use of prompts. In a post announcing this new filter, Bytedance, the owners of TikTok, stated, “We all know a photo can say a thousand words, and TikTok aims to take this new form of visual storytelling even further.”
How to use it
This tool only works through TikTok’s story mode. To use it, open up your story camera (available in your Inbox or on your profile).
Next, go to post a new story and insert a photo to use. When you do this, the AI alive icon will appear on the right hand side of the screen.
Clicking this button will ask you to enter a prompt. The example given by TikTok is a cat and dog, with prompts asking for it to come to life, but it could be more focused on the actions. For example, something like “Dog rolls onto its back while the cat spins”.
Once you’ve created and posted the story, people can view it from within their For You or Following pages on TikTok. As well as on your profile page.
Keeping AI safe
Like other AI generations, this tool does raise some ethical concerns. Bytedance has responded to some of these in its announcement post.
“As this technology enables new forms of creative expression, it undergoes multiple trust and safety checks to protect our community,” Bytedance said.
“To help prevent people from creating content that violates our policies, moderation technology reviews the uploaded photo and written AI generation prompt as well as the AI Alive video before it's shown to the creator.”
To help prevent people from creating content that violates our policies, moderation technology reviews the uploaded photo and written AI generation prompt
A final safety test is done when the creator decides to publicly post to their story. Other users can report these videos if inappropriate content does end up getting through.
There will also be a label on any story using this technology highlighting that it was made using AI — alongside embedded C2PA metadata. This is a kind of technology that helps others identify AI-generated content, even if it is removed from the TikTok platform.
Like other AI tools, this filter is likely to get things wrong or hallucinate depending on the prompt that you give it. This, for the most part, will be pretty harmless with an odd-looking rendition of your dog or a foot blending into the ground.
While this is the first AI-video announcement from TikTok, there are likely to be more to come considering the rising popularity of this technology.
