China proposes mandatory red flags placed on all AI-generated content posted online

On Saturday, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced a likely-to-be-enforced draft plan to enforce mandatory red-flagging of all generative AI content posted online in China [h/t The Register]. Flagging methods include audible disclaimers in audio files, visible watermarks in images, and notices spread throughout the video. Users who don't flag their AI content may still have it flagged anyway, based on metadata or its absence.

The primary purpose of this being a "draft" plan until October, despite the fact that China will enforce this as it pleases, seems to be to give platforms a chance to prepare since the public comments will likely not factor into the final version of this plan. As The Register points out in its coverage, widespread regulation like this (particularly in censorship) is typical of how China treats the Internet— but that doesn't necessarily make this a bad idea.

However, generative AI and its loudest proponents are openly seeking to replace skilled labor and artists however they possibly can, and mandatory disclaimers that what you're posting is, in fact, AI-generated and not the fruits of your labor might be...a good thing?

Several ongoing lawsuits relate to generative AI here in the U.S. and elsewhere. Public comments from the likes of OpenAI's Sam Whitman openly state that it's "impossible" to create AI tools without using copyrighted material—something we in the universe where we still have to work for our money recognize as copyright infringement.

At this point, the cat's out of the bag, so the technology will almost certainly stay— but in its current and near-unregulated form, where it's almost purely destructive to the environment and skilled workers and shows unprecedented power demand? That seems unlikely. At least in China, passing off generative AI's work as your own will be near-impossible before the end of the year.