YouTube now requires creators to disclose to viewers when they use AI to create realistic content, the company announced Monday. The platform is introducing new tools in Creator Studio to help creators understand when content that viewers could mistake for real people, places, or events was created with modified or synthetic media, including generative AI. Require disclosure.
With new generative AI tools making it harder to tell what's real and what's fake, this new disclosure means users can be tricked into thinking synthetically created videos are real. The purpose is to prevent The announcement comes as experts warn that AI and deepfakes pose a significant risk during the upcoming US presidential election.
Today's announcement comes after YouTube announced in November that it would be rolling out this update as part of a larger rollout of new AI policies.
YouTube said the new policy does not require creators to publish content that is clearly unrealistic or animated, such as characters riding unicorns through fantasy worlds. We also do not require creators to publish content that uses generative AI to assist with production, such as generating scripts or automated captions.
Image credit: YouTube
Instead, YouTube targets videos that use realistic human likenesses. For example, creators must disclose if they have digitally altered their content to “replace one individual's face with another individual's face or synthesize a human voice to narrate a video.” YouTube says there is.
They must also disclose content that alters footage of actual events or locations, such as making it appear as though a real building is on fire. Creators must also disclose when they generate realistic scenes of fictional major events, such as a tornado moving toward a real town.
YouTube says most videos will have labels in the extended description, but videos that touch on more sensitive topics like health or news will have more prominent labels on the videos themselves.
In the coming weeks, viewers will see labels across all YouTube formats, starting with the YouTube mobile app and soon on desktop and TV.
YouTube will consider enforcement actions against creators who choose not to use labels consistently. The company says it will add labels if creators haven't added them themselves, especially if the content might confuse or mislead people.