YouTube is teaming up with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to test a new feature that can find deepfakes using celebrities' likenesses. Starting next year, this tool will help stars and athletes spot unauthorized AI-generated content easily. Remember the viral Tom Cruise deepfake on TikTok a few years back? It took lots of manual editing. Now, generative AI has made deepfakes common, with cases like Joe Rogan’s digital doppelganger promoting stuff without his knowledge. Scarily, one in six Congresswomen have been targets of explicit deepfakes.

YouTube already uses Content ID to flag copyrighted content. When someone uploads something without permission, the copyright holder decides if it’s taken down or monetized with ads. CAA is a good partner here as they store digital likenesses, including faces, bodies, and voices, of their clients. Last summer, the largest actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, made a deal allowing actors to sell the rights to replicate their voices.

There’s debate about celebs selling digital replication rights. Maybe in the future, it’ll be like when musicians sell their catalogs for big bucks. If an actor like Tom Cruise could earn a fortune licensing his likeness for future Top Gun movies, would that be so bad? If they’re okay giving up control. YouTube plans to extend this technology to more creators over time.

YouTube’s New Tool Lets Stars Track AI Deepfakes

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