YouTube creators can now use the platform’s new avatar clone tool to create a digital twin. It employs your likeness to generate an avatar for use in YouTube Shorts, eliminating the need for you to appear on camera ever again. “Avatars create a digital version of yourself so you can generate videos that look and sound like you, safely and securely,” Google states in a post. When questioned about safeguards protecting your likeness with this feature, a Google spokesperson replied: “Only the user themselves can create and control their avatar.” Nobody else is able to use it. If videos are opted in to remix, other users can remix the video using the avatar, but they can’t control or modify the avatar itself. Deleting the avatar permanently removes your associated selfie video and voice recording data from YouTube. “Only you can use your avatar to create original videos, you can delete it at any time, and all output is labeled as AI,” the post states. Shorts featuring the avatar will be marked as AI-generated content, per the company. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has said that “AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement” on the platform. Like all social media platforms, YouTube has faced challenges in controlling AI-generated content. Nevertheless, the company appears undeterred in its efforts to incorporate additional AI tools into the platform.
