Is editing and learning left to AI? What is YouTube's "AI Creative Nation Plan" being launched in India?

The Second Act of "AI × YouTube" from India Begins

What YouTube announced at the "YouTube Impact Summit" held in India was not just a list of new features.
When you line up the announcements vertically, what becomes clear is the intention torebuild the infrastructure of "knowledge" and "creativity" using AI as a lever, starting from India.NDTV Profit

At the event, the latest report from Oxford Economics was also introduced. It is estimated that YouTube's creative ecosystem boosted India's GDP by 1.6 trillion rupees (over 300 billion yen) in 2024 alone and supported over 930,000 full-time equivalent jobs.NDTV Profit

Gunjan Soni, Managing Director of YouTube India, says, "Our impact is not just about views, but whether it becomes a source of livelihood and growth." Data was also presented showing that 63% of monetizing creators said "YouTube is their main source of income."NDTV Profit

To strengthen this "earning foundation," a group of AI tools and new collaborations with educational institutions, which became a hot topic this time, are being introduced.

① For Creators: "Edit with AI" to Entrust Editing to AI

First, directly affecting creators is "Edit with AI," which will be expanded as a feature within the mobile editing app "YouTube Create.".
It loads a large amount of footage taken on a smartphone, and AI automatically picks out "usable scenes." It arranges clips, adds music and transitions, and even provides English/Hindi narration to create a "first draft video" automatically.The Indian Express

YouTube's official blog describes this feature as a tool to "reduce the fear of building a timeline from scratch." Instead of cutting and connecting long footage from scratch, the workflow envisions "letting AI create one video first, and then humans can make detailed adjustments from there."blog.youtube

In the update for India, it was emphasized that Edit with AI will be widely deployed in Shorts and YouTube Create. Notably, AI voiceovers tailored to Indian culture, such as cricket commentary style or poetry reading style, are also available, which is interesting.Buzzincontent

Which Creators Will It Appeal To?

• Those who want to release Shorts daily but find editing time a bottleneck

• Vloggers who are good at location shooting but not editing

• Students and young creators living in rural areas who find it difficult to access professional editors or studios

For these groups, it should significantly lighten the "burden of editing." On the other hand, how much human creativity can be layered on the framework created by AI will become a new showcase of skill.

② Protecting Creators: "Likeness Detection" to Detect AI Impersonation

In an era where AI creates videos,AI-generated fake videos that look just like you also become a problem. This is where "Likeness Detection" comes in.

This feature is offered to creators in the YouTube Partner Program, using AI to scan videos on the platform to detect if a specific face is being used without permission in AI-generated/altered content. If suspicious videos are found, creators can request their removal.The Indian Express

In a time when deepfakes and impersonation scams are becoming social issues, the tool, which is a reverse idea of "AI to protect against AI," is being positively received on social media. Media for the advertising and marketing industry have also shown a trend of evaluating it as "finally, the platform side has officially started treating creators' 'faces' as assets."Campaign India

③ AI for Learning: Conversational AI Integrated into Video Player

In this announcement, equally important as the flashy features for creators is theconversational AI specialized for "learning experiences.".

YouTube has already been testing a feature in some regions that displays a question box within the video player, allowing viewers to ask questions about the learning video they are watching on the spot. This conversational AI is based on Google's large language model "Gemini" and can also explain concepts and generate quiz questions.Google Help

For India, this learning-focused version willexpand further, focusing on academic videos. It is initially available in English, with plans to support Hindi in the future.The Indian Express

Two Partners: AIIMS and IICT

To translate such "learning AI" into concrete educational content, YouTube has partnered with two important educational institutions in India.

1. AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) Nursing Faculty

   • Specialized courses such as wound care and infection control for nursing students will be published on YouTube

   • The aim is to allow nurses and students across India to access the same quality of materials from outside the campus.The Indian Express

2. IICT (Indian Institute of Creative Technologies)

   • Jointly launching the "Create with AI" program to develop human resources in the AVGC-XR fields such as animation, gaming, and XR

   • Includes lectures by industry professionals, student funding programs, and support for launching official YouTube channels.The Indian Express

It is impressive that while the Indian government is positioning "creative industries" and "medical and education" as pillars of its growth strategy, YouTube is taking on the digital infrastructure aspect of it.The Times of India

④ Digital Well-being: Putting "Brakes" on Endless Shorts Viewing

AI serves as an accelerator and also works as a "brake."

YouTube announced the expansion of the "First Aid Shelf," which prioritizes displaying reliable First Aid content in health-related search results. By presenting necessary first-response actions in easy-to-understand videos, they aim to provide a viewing experience that is not swayed by misinformation. The Indian Express+1

Furthermore, to stop the endless scrolling of vertical Shorts videos, a new option to set a daily viewing time limit for Shorts will be introduced. This aims to curb the issue of young people, including minors, watching videos endlessly until late at night. The Indian Express+1

Annapurna Devi, India's Minister of Women and Child Development, commented on this initiative, saying, "It aligns with our mission of a digital India where women innovate and children can learn safely."afaqs!+1

⑤ Reactions on SNS: Welcoming Mood and Quiet Caution

So, what kind of reactions are emerging on SNS and online communities regarding this series of announcements?

Welcoming Voices Considering the "Reality of Creators"

Official accounts of Indian tech media and business magazines have introduced the updates on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, with headlines like "Historic Update to Boost India's Creator Economy" standing out.X (formerly Twitter)

YouTube itself has introduced Edit with AI on Instagram Reels with catchy Hindi copy. Messages like "Shoot with your smartphone and leave the rest to AI" seem to be positively received, especially by young users in rural areas.Instagram

On overseas Reddit, threads that have been following YouTube's AI updates are once again lively. One post summarizes, "With AI tools for Shorts, YouTube has fully entered TikTok mode," with comments expressing both welcome for reaching the same level of creative tools as TikTok and concerns about the increasing lack of distinction between the two.Reddit

Caution Against "AI Slop" and Editors' Concerns

Meanwhile, marketing media and creator blogs offer a more sober perspective.

Social Media Today, which deals with SNS marketing, notes that while Edit with AI is useful for creating a first draft, it may also produce "incomprehensible edits typical of generative AI," while also pointing out the positive aspect of suggesting trend-aligned compositions.Social Media Today

Regarding YouTube's separate initiative to address "low-quality AI content (so-called AI slop)," concerns are shared on professional SNS like LinkedIn about whether it constitutes a double standard of distributing convenient AI tools while strictly regulating AI content.