YouTube to purge AI content that ‘realistically simulates’ deceased kids

Google-owned YouTube has announced to crack down on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven content that “realistically simulates” deceased minors or victims of deadly or well-documented major violent events describing their death or violence experienced.

The company has updated its harassment and cyberbullying policies to clamp down on such content. The platform said it will begin striking such content starting on January 16.

The policy change is coming as some content creators have been using AI to recreate the likeness of deceased or missing children, where they give these child victims of high-profile cases a childlike “voice” to describe their deaths.

A Washington Post report recently revealed that content creators have used AI to narrate the abduction and death of deceased or missing kids, including the two-year-old British James Bulger.

“If your content violates this policy, we will remove the content and send you an email to let you know. If we can’t verify that a link you post is safe, we may remove the link,” said YouTube.

“If you get three strikes within 90 days, your channel will be terminated,” the company added.

In September last year, Chinese short-video making platform TikTok introduced a feature to allow creators to label their AI-generated content, disclosing if they are posting synthetic or manipulated media that shows realistic scenes.