- The new Hailuo 02 video model from Minimax has sparked a viral cat trend in Olympic dives
- Videos mix animation based on advanced physics with Internet absurdity
- Although this is not the quality of Google VEO 3, Hailuo 2 quickly gains popularity among occasional AI users
Looking at the cat walk on the dive, I could imagine calls for fire service or a huge crowd rushing to save him, causing a disaster, while the feline simply blinked with the tragedy. Instead, the cat executed a triple perilous jump of Olympic caliber in the swimming pool. If it was not for the impossible feat and my conscience that it was a video generated by AI, I would check if there was a bizarre situation on Friday with the American swimming team.
Instead, this is an extremely viral video produced using the Hailuo 02 model of the AI developer of the Chinese minimax developer. The millions of people watching the video of cat diving may not be real, but it is real enough to make your way in competition for the video domination of AI, alongside Google Veo 3 and the Sora of Openai, among others.
Minimax made its Hauluo 02 debut earlier this summer, but the virality of the false video of the Olympic Games suggests that this will become a very popular tool to make fixed images or text prompts in videos. The model only makes clips of five to ten seconds for the moment, but its personalization of movement, its camera effects and its impressive imitation of real world physics, such as the movement of fur or water splashes, make it more intriguing.
Testing Hailuo 02 on cats, the dive apparently came organically when X user RB Keeper (probably not their real name) tried an prompt that they had seen on Veo 3. The idea spread from there to a version that collected millions of views in a few hours and appeared on Tiktok, Reddit and Instagram, with many variations.
Ai Battles Video
To watch
Hailuo 02 uses physical simulation by frame by frame, movement prompts made of attention and analysis of multimodal entries. In other words, if you type a strange idea, the model will do its best to make it appear and behave as it would in an approximation of the real world.
In particular, Hailuo 02 would be much cheaper and faster than Veo 3, but perhaps without the high-end brilliant. However, it is more accessible, not limited to corporate services and beta programs like Veo 3.
Cat diving videos are the apex of a very specific Venn diagram of internet trends, accessible tools and pleasure with low challenges. You don’t need to be a professional editor or have a supercomputer to try it. And more upgrades are on the horizon. Minimax described the plans to integrate audio control, lighting and synchronized texture, as well as longer clips.
As for Google Veo 3 and other major players, they have their professional niche for the moment. But if they want to broaden their attraction to the masses, they could turn to what Minimax and small developers like Midjourney, with its V1 video model, do. Hailuo 02 is the kind of tool that will bring people, like cats, to dive.
