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Japan uses AI simulation of Mount Fuji erupting to prepare citizens for the worst

AI video generation has allowed for Japan to ensure citizens are adequately prepared in case of an eruption.

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Women looking shocked while standing in the city centre of Tokyo.
Japan is using AI to ensure citizens are prepared accordingly incase of volcanic erruption. BBC Asia / Tokyo Metropolitan Government

What’s happened? To mark Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Day, Japan has released an AI generated video depicting Mount Fuji erupting to warn citizens of Tokyo that an eruption could occur at any moment.

  • The AI generated video, which can be seen over at BBC Asia, shows the volcano erupting with a plume of smoke emerging before ash spreads 60 miles away over Tokyo. It then shows power outages and food distribution issues as a cause of the eruption.
  • Despite not having erupted for over 300 years, Japan wants to ensure that its citizens are prepared for what might happen if it does.
  • Japan has turned to utilizing AI to ensure that people are really and truly aware of how drastic the consequences of an eruption could be and prepare accordingly.

Why is this important? Japan using an AI generated video to showcase the damage of Mount Fuji could see more countries use AI in disaster preparedness strategies.

  • This would ensure citizens know exactly what the worse case scenario could be.
  • AI generated videos could also ensure people take potential upcoming disasters seriously rather than dismissing the issue.
  • This example showcases real world applications for AI video generation.
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Why should I care? AI video generators are becoming more and more accessible, with multiple AI companions now offering text to video generation for free. While previously it has felt that premium AI features have only been available to those who are willing to pay for premium tier subscriptions of artificial intelligence companions, companies are now making elements like photo and video generation accessible by all users – paying or not.

  • Google Gemini now allows you to try Veo 3 – its text to video generation product – and create eight second videos.
  • Grok, the AI companion from Elon Musk, also allows you to use Grok Imagine to generate videos either from text or images. You can control the video’s tone and this is available to use for free for all users across both iOS and Android.
  • AI features like these, along with many others, mean that just about anyone can generate videos the way Japan has.
Jasmine Mannan
If you' want reviews of neural processing units in AI laptops or need a guide on how to use AI, Jasmine has done it all.
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