Marcus Byrne: Seeing is No Longer Believing, But Curiosity is Still Sacred

From now on, assume everything you see online is potentially AI-generated until you can verify it.

That’s not paranoia. That’s the new baseline.

But here’s the thing: The danger isn’t in the tools, but in losing the will to use them.

We’re not just facing a flood of synthetic content, we’re facing a crisis of curiosity. And if we stop asking questions, stop creating, stop caring… then we’ve already lost.

​Google has now introduced Flow, powered by Veo 3, its most advanced generative video model to date. It can generate photorealistic, fluid motion, cinematic lighting, ambient sound, and dialogue from a simple text prompt. In its own words, "Say goodbye to the silent era of video generation."

It’s a seismic shift. And a moment we’ll look back on.

Because the videos are stunning and indistinguishable from real life, this isn’t deep fake territory anymore. This is a synthetic reality in 4K, ready for any news feed, ad campaign, or political message.

Until now, sight was our final line of defence. 'I’ll believe it when I see it' used to mean something, but in 2025? Seeing is not believing. It’s just the start of asking better questions.

That influencer’s story. That celebrity endorsement. The opinions at an auto show. It could be real. It could be Gen AI. The barrier for entry is almost gone, available to brands, creators, bad actors, anyone with a Wi-Fi connection and a decent prompt.

This isn’t fear-mongering. This is foresight.

Back in 2023, Europol and analysts like Nina Schick warned that up to 90% of online content could soon be AI-generated. That was before Veo 3 even launched.

The point is, AI will always be in its infancy. What’s coming next? It’ll be faster, smarter, stranger.

So what do we do? We don’t retreat. We evolve.

We need a new kind of digital literacy, one that doesn’t begin with belief, but with verification.

We need to create:

• Clear AI labelling
• Platform transparency
• A sharper, more sceptical public eye

As Uncommon's Nils Leonard says, “The biggest danger to our creativity isn’t artificial intelligence, it’s apathy.”

AI is not a replacement for creativity. It’s a new brush. A new camera. A new instrument. We need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. AI is not just another tool; it’s as big as fire, the wheel, and electricity. Use it to amplify your voice, your vision, your story.

Visual proof may no longer be sacred. But curiosity still is.

I love this new medium. It’s fluid and nonlinear; it sounds weird, but it’s an organic way to create. It allows for play, exploration, and unexpected expression in real time. It gives a voice to those previously unheard. As we witness new art forms emerge, we are also going through the five stages of grief for the old world that is slipping away like sand through a sieve.

The new world is being built before our eyes at lightning speed. It’s kind of unsettling. Nobody can possibly know where this will take us.

So yes, the world didn’t get less real. It just got harder to recognise.

We must meet this moment with new standards and sharp instincts. But most of all, with creativity.

Did we stop playing the drums because drum machines are better at keeping time? The real advantage isn’t the tool, it’s the story, the soul, the spark. Design is messy, humans are messy. Be messy.

Stay curious. Play and play more.

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Marcus Byrne is the head of art and AI at Thinkerbell.