YouTube Taking Action Against AI-Generated Deepfakes: Labeling and Removal of Videos Ahead!
YouTube, the popular online video sharing and social media platform owned by Google, has announced new policies requiring content creators to report when they have produced altered or synthetic content that appears realistic, including the use of creative artificial intelligence tools. These policies also include measures to eliminate deep counterfeiting.
“Generative AI has the potential to unleash creativity on YouTube and transform the experience for viewers and creators on our platform. But just as importantly, these opportunities must be balanced with our responsibility to protect the YouTube community,” YouTube said in a blog post.
According to the Google-owned model, AI’s powerful new forms of storytelling can be used to create content that could mislead viewers — especially if they don’t know the video has been altered or synthetically created.
To address this concern, YouTube is rolling out updates in the coming months that will tell viewers when the content they’re seeing is synthetic. “In particular, we require content creators to disclose when they have created altered or synthetic content that is realistic, including the use of artificial intelligence tools,” the video sharing platform said.
When creators upload content, YouTube has new options to indicate that it contains realistically modified or synthetic material. This could be, for example, an AI-generated video that realistically depicts an event that never happened, or content where someone says or does something they didn’t actually do.
This is important in cases where the content deals with sensitive topics such as elections, ongoing conflicts and public health crises or public officials. The company warned that creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information could be subject to content removal, suspension from the YouTube Partner Program or other penalties.
The company informs viewers that content can be modified or synthetic in two ways.
A new label is added to the description panel to indicate that some of the content is modified or synthetic. For certain types of content dealing with sensitive topics, we add a more prominent identifier to the video player.
“There are also areas where a label alone may not be sufficient to reduce the risk of harm, and some synthetic materials, regardless of whether it is labeled, will be removed from our platform if it violates community rules,” the company said.
Content generated by YouTube’s creative AI products and features will also be clearly marked as modified or synthetic.
In the coming months, YouTube will make it possible to use our privacy request process to request the removal of AI-generated or other synthetic or modified content that simulates an identifiable person, including their face or voice.
