YouTube Announces New Policies Surrounding AI

YouTube has announced new policies in regards to AI, including requiring creators to disclose its use and allowing users to request that copyrighted material and AI that simulates real people be taken down.

Putting a label on it: Jennifer Flannery O’Connor and Emily Moxley, VPs of product management at YouTube, shared in a blog post on Tuesday that in the coming months, the platform will "introduce updates that inform viewers when the content they’re seeing is synthetic."

YouTube will require creators to disclose when they have "created altered or synthetic content that is realistic, including using AI tools" and will allow them to indicate that their content contains "realistic altered or synthetic material." Creators who don't abide by the new rule could face content removal or suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, and YouTube will also let viewers know that video of Taylor Swift hanging out with Kim Kardashian probably isn't real via a new label on its description panel and a label on the video player for "certain types of content about sensitive topics." 

Rights for rights holders: Along with requiring creators to disclose any AI use, YouTube will also let music rights holders request that any AI-generated content "that mimics an artist's unique singing or rapping voice" be removed from the platform. Requests will first be available to labels or distributors representing artists participating in YouTube's "early AI music experiments," though access will be expanded to include additional labels and distributors over the next few months.

For non-musical AI issues, YouTube will allow users to request the removal of content that "simulates an identifiable individual," including their face or voice. Though removal can be requested, it will not be granted in all cases, and the site will consider the type of content (parody or satire, for example) and whether it features a celebrity, among other factors.