On Tuesday, YouTube, which is owned by Google, announced that it will soon demand that content creators reveal when they have used generative AI tools or other methods to create altered or synthetic content that is realistic.
YouTube will offer creators new options to mark content as realistically altered or synthetically created when they upload it.
According to the company, an AI-generated video that accurately portrays an unreal event or content that shows someone saying or acting in a way they didn’t actually do could be examples of this.
This is crucial when discussing sensitive subjects like elections, ongoing disputes, public health emergencies, or public officials.
The company issued a warning, stating that content creators who repeatedly refuse to reveal this information could face consequences such as content removal, suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, or other legal action.
Before this goes live, YouTube said, “We’ll work with creators to make sure they understand these new requirements.”
The company will alert viewers to the possibility of two types of content alteration or synthesizing.
The description panel will get a new label stating that some of the content was fake or altered. Additionally, we will give the video player a more noticeable label for specific kinds of content that deal with delicate subjects.
The company stated, “In certain cases, a label by itself might not be sufficient to reduce the risk of harm, and certain synthetic media—regardless of label—will be eliminated from our platform if it transgresses our Community Guidelines.”
In the coming months, YouTube will make it possible to request the removal of AI-generated or other synthetic or altered content that simulates an identifiable individual, including their face or voice, using our privacy request process.
“Not all content will be removed from YouTube, and we’ll consider a variety of factors when evaluating these requests. This could include whether the content is parody or satire, whether the person making the request can be uniquely identified, or whether it features a public official or well-known individual, in which case there may be a higher bar,” the company explained.
The platform is also introducing the ability for its music partners to request the removal of AI-generated music content that mimics an artist’s unique singing or rapping voice.
These removal requests will be available to labels or distributors who represent artists participating in YouTube’s early AI music experiments.
The potent new storytelling techniques that AI is able to produce can also be used to create content that could fool viewers, especially if they aren’t aware that the video has been edited or is artificially made.
YouTube said, “To address this concern, we’ll introduce updates that let viewers know when the content they’re seeing is synthetic over the coming months.”
