YouTube now requires creators to disclose when realistic content was made with AI

The platform is introducing a new tool in Creator Studio that will require creators to disclose when content that viewers could mistake for a real person, place or event was created with altered or synthetic media, including generative AI.

The new disclosures aim to prevent users from being led to believe that a synthetically created video is real, as new generative AI tools make it harder to differentiate between what is real and what is fake. The launch takes place at a time when experts warn that AI and deepfakes will pose a notable risk during the upcoming US presidential elections.

The announcement comes as YouTube announced in November that it would launcharia the update as part of a broader introduction of new security policies artificial intelligence.

YouTube says the new policy does not require creators to post content that is clearly unrealistic or animated, like someone riding a unicorn in a fantasy world. It also does not require creators to disclose content that used technology for production assistance, such as script generation or automatic captioning.

Instead, YouTube targets videos that use an image of a realistic person. For example, creators will have to disclose when they digitally alter content to “replace one individual’s face with another’s or synthetically generate a person’s voice to narrate a video,” says YouTube.

They will also have to release content that alters footage of real events or places, such as making it look like a real building caught fire. Creators will also have to disclose when they generate realistic footage of major fictional events, such as a tornado moving toward a real city.

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