How do generative AI models create images and videos?

Generative AI models create images and videos by learning from lots of examples and then making new ones on their own.

Imagine you have a big box full of different kinds of blocks, some red, some blue, some square, some round. You play with them every day and learn how to stack them in cool ways. One day, someone asks you to make a tower that looks like something you've seen before, but not exactly the same. You pick blocks from your box, think about which ones go where, and build something new.

That's what generative AI models do, but with pixels instead of blocks. They look at millions of images and videos to learn patterns, like how colors fit together or how movements happen over time. Then, when asked to make a new image or video, they pick from the "blocks" they've learned and put them together in smart ways.

When making an image, generative AI models choose which pixels (tiny colored dots) go where, just like choosing blocks for a tower. They use what they’ve learned to make something that looks real, maybe a picture of a cat, or a sunset, or even you!

For videos, the model does the same thing but adds time. It makes one image after another, changing slightly each time, like flipping through pages in a storybook really fast. That’s how it creates moving pictures!