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YouTube made AI enhancements to videos without warning or permission

(www.bbc.com)
296 points jakub_g | 3 comments | 24 Aug 25 10:37 UTC | HN request time: 0.532s | source
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lolc ◴[25 Aug 25 05:39 UTC] No.45010577[source]▶
> "You know, YouTube is constantly working on new tools and experimenting with stuff," Beato says. "They're a best-in-class company, I've got nothing but good things to say. YouTube changed my life."

My despondent brain auto-translated that to: "My livelihood depends on Youtube"

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ThatMedicIsASpy ◴[25 Aug 25 12:29 UTC] No.45013124[source]▶
As a consumer they are the most hostile platform to consume a video the way I want. Not the way they want me to. I am also required to use an adblocker to disable all shorts.
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LauraMedia ◴[25 Aug 25 13:22 UTC] No.45013581[source]▶
As a creator, they are also the most hostile platform, randomly removing video with no point of contact for help or fully removing channels (with livelihoods behind them) because of "a system glitch" but again, not point of contact to get it fixed.
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1. sixothree ◴[25 Aug 25 14:30 UTC] No.45014263[source]▶
Pretty much every creator I follow has complained about something being removed without any clear explanation or the ability to contact anyone and ask questions.

Say what you want about Microsoft, but if I have a problem with something I've pretty much always ended up getting support for that problem. I think Google's lack of response adds to their "mystique".

But it also creates superstitions since creators don't really understand the firm rules to follow.

Regardless, it is one of the most dystopian things about modern society - the lack of accountability for their decisions.

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2. normalaccess ◴[25 Aug 25 15:39 UTC] No.45015058[source]▶
YouTube is “riding a tiger,” and the moment creators realize they hold the real power, the game is up. I believe the platform purposely creates a fear of the unknown with intermittent reward–punishment cycles. Random rules enforcement, videos taken down, strikes, demonetization, throttling... The algorithm becomes a sort of deity that people try to appease and they turn into cultish devotees preforming endless rounds of strange rituals in hopes of "divine" monetization favor.
3. dmonitor ◴[25 Aug 25 16:40 UTC] No.45015762[source]▶
Youtube needs a far greater amount of bureaucracy than it has, despite how scary that word is to tech people. Google's automated approach is clearly not capable of keeping up with the scale and nuance of the website.

It's worth stating, though, that the vast majority of youtube's problems are the fault of copyright law and massive media publishers. Google could care less if you wanted to upload full camrips of 2025's biggest blockbusters, but the powers-that-be demand Google is able to take it down immediately. This is why 15 seconds of a song playing in the background gets your video demonitized.