Hank Green's latest video addresses AI training and YouTube content
By Meg Dowell
Over the past several months, online content creators have not been pleased about the news that AI companies are using YouTube videos without permission for their training models. Hank Green is just as upset as many others, and his latest video goes into more detail about the whole situation.
Green does clarify he's specifically discussing "generative AI" in this context, rather, AI programs that are "trained" on previously existing content that allows them to create "new" content from the content that already existed.
He also clarifies that many of his company's (Complexly's) YouTube channels such as SciShow and CrashCourse are being used by AI companies in training models. And he, like many others, is of the belief that using creator content without permission is wrong. He is not a fan. In fact, he even uses the phrase "I'm being ripped off" in the video to describe his feelings.
One problem, as Green explains, is that there are companies who have signed licensing deals with AI companies -- meaning the AI companies pay them to use their content to train AI. But people like Green aren't getting paid, because the AI companies using his content didn't ask permission to do so. And there are many, MANY creators much smaller and less financially stable than Green. So you can imagine how they might be feeling.
The video -- which is nearly 30 minutes long, much longer than a standard vlogbrothers upload -- dives deeper into Google's Terms of Service not specifying anything about AI training, which raises all kinds of questions about what YouTube creators are actually agreeing to when they sign up for an account and start uploading original content to the platform (which Google owns).
If you have time, the entire video is worth watching. Green comes at the issue having the unique perspective of a longtime YouTube creator who is also the founder of a digital media company that largely makes YouTube videos. It's a complex issue, and more in depth conversations can and should begin as a result of videos like this one.
There is also a form to fill out allowing YouTube creators to give feedback on the issue.