How are we supposed to protect ourselves as the internet becomes an increasingly tangled web of mis- and disinformation? YouTube is working on solutions for its creators, including a new likeness detection tool. Originally announced last year with a pilot program that included users MrBeast, Mark Robert, Doctor Mike, and Marques Brownlee, the company announced on Tuesday that the tool will now become available to all YouTube Partner Program creators. “Creators can already request the removal of AI fakes, including face and voice, through our existing privacy process. What this new technology does is scale that protection,” YouTube’s vice president of creator products Amjad Hanif told Axios.
Per the outlet, the tool works by having users upload an image of their face, which will then be tracked and detected elsewhere on the platform. Creators can then request to have the content removed through YouTube’s privacy complaint process. Other new features announced on Tuesday include generative AI tools for creating and editing video or turning speech into song. According to Variety, YouTube uses Google DeepMind’s SynthID watermarks and content labels to indicate that applicable videos were generated with AI. Like every other tech company, YouTube is incorporating AI wherever it can. However, the platform is attempting to balance between embracing the innovations and protecting creators from them.
Hanif told Axios that YouTube “is looking to expand its detection technology beyond face to other forms of likeness.” For instance, one of the tools announced last year “will allow partners to automatically detect and manage AI-generated content on YouTube that simulates their singing voices.” YouTube has also endorsed the NO FAKES Act, which would require platforms to respond quickly to takedown requests for AI-generated likenesses. As Hanif explained, “For us, a responsible AI future needs two things: clear legal frameworks like NO FAKES, and the scalable technology—which we’re building—to actually enforce those principles on our platform.”
