Google is stepping up its game in the accurate tagging of AI-produced content. The tech giant is enhancing its proprietary tool, “About This Image,” with a universal system for identifying the roots of an AI-altered image. The upgrade is part of Google’s collaboration with the international Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).
The C2PA’s members, which include Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI, have pledged to create and adopt a uniform AI validation and detection procedure, powered by a verification technology called “Content Credentials”. However, not all members have put these verification standards into practice yet.
Google is leading the way among key stakeholders by incorporating the new 2.1 standard from C2PA into offerings such as Google Search and eventually Google Ads. This standard features an approved “Trust List” of devices and technology that can aid in verifying the source of a photo or video through its metadata. Google’s aim is to gradually expand this initiative and use C2PA signals to guide the enforcement of crucial policies.
TikTok was the first video platform to apply the C2PA’s Content Credentials after joining the coalition in May, which includes an automatic labeling system to interpret a video’s metadata and identify it as AI. YouTube is expected to follow suit with the deployment of Content Credentials across Google’s platforms.
Google has been proactive in advocating for comprehensive AI tagging and regulation, particularly in its attempts to limit the dissemination of false information. In 2023, Google unveiled SynthID, its unique digital watermarking tool designed to help identify and monitor AI-generated content produced using Google DeepMind’s text-to-image generator, Imagen. The company implemented AI labeling requirements for YouTube videos earlier this year and has pledged to tackle AI-generated deepfake content in Google Search.
In February, Google joined the C2PA steering committee, which comprises other significant industry participants and even news outlets like the BBC.
