Why Text-Only AI Feels Outdated Now
I had a moment last week that made me realize how much things have changed. I was trying to explain a technical diagram to an AI, and instead of typing out a long description, I just... took a photo of it. The AI understood it immediately.
That's multimodal AI in action. And once you get used to it, going back to text-only feels weirdly limiting.
What "Multimodal" Actually Means
In plain English: the AI can work with different types of input and output. Text, images, audio, video—not just one format.
This might sound obvious, but it's a huge technical leap. The AI isn't converting your image to text and then processing it. It's actually "seeing" it in a more native way.
Some things I've done with this that genuinely surprised me:
- Sketched a rough website layout on paper, photographed it, and got working code back
- Recorded a voice memo with a rough idea, got a structured outline
- Showed the AI a photo of my messy handwriting and got a clean typed version
The Video Generation Thing
You've probably heard about tools like Sora. The short version: AI can now generate pretty convincing video from text descriptions.
Is it perfect? No. But it's good enough that people are already using it for:
- Quick explainer videos
- Social media content
- Rough visual concepts before investing in real production
I think the bigger deal isn't replacing video production—it's making it accessible to people who could never afford it before.
My Honest Take
Multimodal AI is genuinely useful, but here's what I've learned: it works best when you combine it with your own judgment. The AI might understand your image, but it doesn't know your context. You still need to guide it.
Start by trying to replace one annoying typing session with a photo or voice memo. See how it goes.