YouTube’s shiny new AI, designed to detect underage users, is already sparking outrage and concern across the internet. And it hasn’t even officially rolled out yet.
From general grousing on Reddit threads to Change.org petitions, there’s a running theme throughout: this doesn’t feel like it’s about child safety. It feels like mass surveillance.
The system, currently being tested in the U.S., doesn’t care what age you typed in when you signed up. Instead, it determines your age by scanning your viewing history. If you mostly watch Minecraft lore videos, toy unboxings, and slime videos, it’ll decide that you’re a child, or at the very least, under the age of 18.
Anyone flagged as under 18 won’t see targeted ads. They also can’t binge certain content, and will be nudged by YouTube into taking a break every so often if they watch for too long.
YouTube’s New AI Tool Will Guess Your Age—and Restrict Your Account If It Thinks You’re a Child
If you are over 18 yet YouTube’s AI thinks you’re underage, you will need to submit a government ID, credit card, or a selfie to convince them otherwise.
Critics argue the tech has a two-year margin of error, meaning young adults could get caught in the algorithmic dragnet. What’s worse, YouTube’s vague language regarding data retention and security is raising concerns.
Gerfdas Gaming, a YouTuber who started the aforementioned Change.org petition, summed up the collective mood while speaking with Ars Technica: “As an adult, I should be able to watch what I want within the law—and if the viewer is a child, that responsibility belongs to their parents, not a corporation.”
YouTube isn’t doing this in a vacuum. The company is responding to global pressures to better safeguard children from inappropriate material, which sounds like a worthwhile crusade on the surface, until you start raising questions about who determines what is inappropriate.
Providing parents with the tools necessary to safeguard their children gives them the power. With an AI age verification tool, the power to censor is in Big Tech’s hands, companies that cowtow to even the slightest pressure from authoritarian governments.
And besides, YouTube Kids already exists. An entire version of YouTube specifically designed and curated for children. If that’s already a thing, why doesn’t an age verification system need to exist at all?
For now, the AI age-checks are only affecting a small group of U.S. users. But if the pushback fails, critics warn this temporary system could become permanent and apply to all users.
The post YouTube Launched an AI Tool to Guess Your Age—and Restrict Your Account If It Thinks You’re a Child appeared first on VICE.
