Amazon makes sellers label AI-generated people in images after NY law

Amazon After New York recently passed a law calling for greater transparency around “synthetic artists” in ads, third-party sellers are required to label any product images or videos that feature “AI-generated people.”

The company notified sellers about the policy change on Wednesday, according to a copy of the announcement viewed by CNBC. The policy directs sellers to tag images and any “A+ content,” meaning videos or other graphics, on listing pages with specific metadata keywords before they are uploaded.

“Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in ads feature people generated by photorealistic AI,” Amazon wrote in its announcement.

new york lawThe law, which took effect last month, requires companies to disclose whether “synthetic performers” are used to replace human actors in ads. The legislation applies to “digitally generated media that masquerades as a real person.” Gov. Kathy Hochul called it a “first-in-the-nation” law.

“Without realizing that the content the public is viewing is not real, artificial intelligence-generated synthetic artists and manipulated media can undermine a person’s ability to accurately distinguish fact from fiction,” Hochul’s office said in a statement. he said.

In its announcement, Amazon explained that this obligation does not apply to content containing TV, video game and movie characters, or to content containing real people, even if they have been replaced using artificial intelligence.

The company said it would “add an indicator” to listings on its website and notify consumers that images or other content include AI-generated people “where appropriate.” It’s unclear what criteria Amazon will apply when deciding when to show the label to shoppers.

Amazon had no immediate comment.

Amazon has embraced AI internally and is increasingly spreading the technology across its portfolio. The company has optimized listing titles and details to make them more likely to be noticed by AI systems, invested in the recently rebranded Alexa for Shopping assistant, and launched a feature that integrates Alexa for shopping. Products created by artificial intelligence to the search bar in real time based on user queries.

More Amazon third-party sellers are using AI to partially generate text, images and other content for their listings. company vehicles.

Outside sellers are the engine behind Amazon’s core retail business, accounting for more than 60% of goods sold on its marketplace.

There is no federal law requiring companies to disclose that advertising content was created using artificial intelligence.

States have taken steps to provide greater transparency around AI content. Earlier this year, California began requiring major AI providers to place watermarks on AI-generated images, videos or other content.

Metatiktok, on Pinterest And GoogleYouTube added artificial intelligence-generated content tags to videos and images uploaded to its platforms. tiktok And Meta It has recently been criticized for not adequately labeling ads featuring AI-generated influencers peddling questionable products, in some cases without a brand’s knowledge.

TikTok says it’s taking steps to ban accounts making misleading health claims, and Meta says it’s tagging AI videos

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