YouTube opens its doors to deepfakes
PlatformerNov 15, 2023
The Facts
YouTube has launched a new tool that will allow select users to make music with the AI-generated vocals of nine famous artists, including Demi Lovato, Charli XCX, John Legend, and Troye Sivan.
Called Dream Track, the experimental AI tool will permit a "small group of select US creators" to generate song snippets for up to 30 seconds for use in YouTube Shorts — YouTube's short-form video section.
The Spin
Narrative A
YouTube's "approach to responsible AI innovation" is greenlighting the widespread posting of "synthetic media." While major-label musicians' requests for video-takedown might be being taken seriously by the platform, all that its statement says about deepfakes is that the company will "consider a variety of factors when evaluating" such reports. Youtube needs to make much more convincing reassurances.
Narrative B
Google Deepmind — the UK-based AI research lab that has launched YouTube's Dream Track — has already reassured those concerned about deepfakes and copyright that any synthetic audio it publishes will be watermarked. This watermarking will be "inaudible to the human ear and doesn't compromise the listening experience," but allows for detection even after manipulation. This fact ought to lay to rest any fears among skeptics.
Nerd narrative
There's a 67% chance that at least 25% of Year-End Billboard Hot 100 songs will be primarily composed by AI by 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.