I didn’t realize cats doing Olympic diving would be such compelling viewing – until the latest AI video craze from a new Veo 3 rival

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• MiniMax’s new Hailuo 02 AI video model has sparked a viral trend of cats performing Olympic dives

• The videos blend advanced physics-based animation with internet absurdity

• Though not the quality of Google Veo 3, Hailuo 2 is rapidly gaining in popularity among casual AI users

Watching the cat walk onto the diving board, I could imagine calls to the fire department or a huge crowd rushing to save it, causing a catastrophe, while the feline simply blinked at the tragedy. Instead, the cat executed an Olympic-caliber triple somersault into the pool. If it weren't for the impossible feat and my awareness that it was an AI-generated video, I'd be checking to see if there was a Freaky Friday situation with the U.S. swim team.

Instead, it's a hugely viral video produced using Chinese AI video developer MiniMax's Hailuo 02 model. The millions of people watching the video of cats diving may not be real, but it's real enough to elbow its way into the competition for AI video dominance, alongside Google Veo 3 and OpenAI's Sora, among many others.

MiniMax debuted Hailuo 02 earlier this summer, but the virality of the faux Olympics video suggests it's going to become a very popular tool for making still images or text prompts into videos. The model only makes five- to ten-second clips for now, but its motion customization, camera effects, and impressive imitation of real-world physics, like the movement of fur or splashing of water, make it more intriguing.

Testing Hailuo 02 on cats diving came about seemingly organically when X user R.B Keeper (presumably not their real name) tried a prompt they'd seen tested on Veo 3. The idea spread from there to a version that garnered millions of views in a matter of hours and appeared on TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram, with numerous variations.

AI video battles

Hailuo 02 uses frame-by-frame physics simulation, attention-mapped motion prompts, and multimodal input parsing. In other words, if you type a strange idea, the model will do its best to make it look and behave like it would in an approximation of the real world.

Notably, Hailuo 02 is reportedly far cheaper and faster than Veo 3, though perhaps without quite the high-end gloss. Still, it's more accessible, not being limited to enterprise services and beta programs like Veo 3.

The cat diving videos are the apex of a very specific Venn diagram of internet trends, accessible tools, and low-stakes fun. You don’t need to be a professional editor or own a supercomputer to try it. And more upgrades are on the horizon. MiniMax has outlined plans to integrate synchronized audio, lighting, and texture control, as well as longer clips.

As for Google Veo 3 and other major players, they have their professional niche for now. But if they want to widen their appeal to the masses, they might look to what MiniMax and smaller developers like Midjourney, with its V1 video model, are doing. Hailuo 02 is the kind of tool that will get people, like the cats, to dive in.

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