YouTube has announced plans to work with big players in the music industry, such as Universal Media Group (UMG), to create a balanced framework that adheres to the interest of copyright holders and the platform’s creative community.

On YouTube’s official blog site on Monday, August 21, Chief Executive Officer Neal Mohan revealed the three principles behind its approach to generative AI. He pointed out that YouTube has every intention to embrace the new technology responsibly, citing over 1.7 billion views of AI tool-related videos in 2023.

The company introduced its YouTube Music AI Incubator, which will work closely with musicians, songwriters, and producers from UMG.

Speaking on the YouTube Music AI Incubator, Mohan said: “Our goal is to partner with the music industry to empower creativity in a way that enhances our joint pursuit of responsible innovation. The incubator will help inform YouTube’s approach as we work with some of music’s most innovative artistes, songwriters, and producers across the industry, across a diverse range of cultures, genres, and experiences.”

He explained that the second principle is ensuring appropriate protections are in place in the new age of creative expression. He noted that YouTube already uses its ‘Content ID System’ to ensure artistes are properly compensated but will need to be improved to address music that utilises generative AI.

The final principle was the necessity of scaling YouTube’s content policies to meet the challenges of AI. Already on YouTube, there are restrictions against videos that have been technically manipulated to promote false claims or mislead viewers about an atrocity in a way that could lead to serious risk of harm.

“Generative AI systems may amplify current challenges like trademark and copyright abuse, misinformation, spam, and more. But AI can also be used to identify this sort of content, and we’ll continue to invest in the AI-powered technology that helps us protect our community,” Mohan added.