🚫 Sand AI’s Magi-1: The Video Generator That Sees (Almost) Everything 👀🎬

Sand AI, a Chinese startup, has introduced Magi-1, an open-source video-generating AI model that’s turning heads in the tech community.

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🎥 What’s Magi-1?

• Autoregressive Video Generation: Magi-1 predicts sequences of frames to create high-quality, controllable footage.
• Massive Model: With 24 billion parameters, it requires 4–8 Nvidia H100 GPUs to run, making it impractical for most consumer hardware.
• Hosted Access: Due to its size, many users rely on Sand AI’s platform to test Magi-1.

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🛑 The Censorship Conundrum

While Magi-1 showcases impressive capabilities, it comes with a catch:

• Image Filtering: The platform blocks uploads of politically sensitive images, including:
  • Xi Jinping
  • Tiananmen Square and Tank Man
  • Taiwanese flag
  • Hong Kong liberation symbols
• Strict Enforcement: Renaming files doesn’t bypass the filters; the censorship operates at the image level.

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🤔 Why the Restrictions?

Chinese regulations mandate that AI models avoid content that could “damage the unity of the country and social harmony.” To comply:

• Prompt-Level Filters: Sand AI employs filters to prevent the generation of politically sensitive content.
• Aggressive Censorship: Compared to peers like Hailuo AI, Sand AI’s filtering is notably stringent.

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