YouTube will begin using machine learning to determine whether viewers should be on a teen account. The company plans to start trialing this AI app in a portion of U.S. users in the next few weeks before bringing it to other markets. The tool will evaluate user behavior, including the type of video being searched for, the category of video being watched, and how long the account exists. When machine learning belongs to a teenager, treating an account as YouTube will disable personalized ads, activate digital welfare tools and add additional safeguards to its younger users.
Since its launch in 2021, YouTube continues to add targets for younger users. The company noted that it has been using this machine learning method, “for a while in other markets, it worked well.”
YouTube is not the only service that leverages AI tools to attract users who may lie. However, this gives users the burden of correcting false positives: “If the system mistakenly estimates that users are under 18, they will have the option to verify their age 18 or older, such as using a credit card or government ID.” Meta started launching on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger earlier this year, but if AI tools mistakenly guess their age, it can make people only change their settings.
