Google’s Veo 3 introduces a groundbreaking advance in Artificial Intelligence video generation by integrating synchronized audio—voices, dialog, and sound effects—directly into eight-second high-definition video clips. This leap forward makes synthetic media significantly more convincing compared to earlier Artificial Intelligence video tools, which were limited to silent, often stilted visuals. The evolution from rudimentary, audio-free outputs between 2022 and 2024 to today’s sophisticated audiovisual creations highlights the rapid pace of progress in generative Artificial Intelligence technologies.
The “Will Smith eating spaghetti” meme, which originated in early 2023 from crude ModelScope-generated videos, has become a benchmarking standard within the Artificial Intelligence developer community. This cultural touchstone was recently revisited through a demonstration by developer Javi Lopez, who used Veo 3 to generate a video of a Will Smith lookalike eating spaghetti. The result features a Will Smith double crunching, rather than slurping, his pasta—an audio anomaly likely due to the model’s training data overrepresenting crunching sounds. Despite this glitch, the video displays a new level of audiovisual realism, with dialog and background sounds largely in sync with the visual scene, as seen in other Veo 3 examples circulating on social media.
Veo 3’s ability to generate lifelike audio and video synchronously marks a substantial qualitative improvement, propelling artificial media closer to being indistinguishable from genuine footage. While Google currently applies celebrity usage filters, the technology’s power raises new questions about misinformation and deepfakes; without safeguards, tools like Veo 3 could be leveraged to fabricate realistic videos of real people saying or doing things they never have. As Artificial Intelligence video generators grow more accessible and capable, the potential for misuse—including viral hoaxes and reputational harm—becomes an increasing concern for platforms, policymakers, and the public. Nevertheless, Veo 3 sets a new bar for audiovisual synthesis, illustrating both the promise and peril of next-generation Artificial Intelligence media.