Though plagiarism is my greatest passion and my area of expertise, I also have a deep love for astronomy, cosmology, theoretical physics, quantum mechanics, and similar subjects. It’s a love that goes back decades, to when I was in college and studying journalism.

These days, that passion mostly takes the form of YouTube channels and podcasts. Channels like PBS Space Time, Crash Course, and StarTalk have been mainstays for me for many years.

Even more recently, I’ve begun listening to long-form content like The History of the Universe, SEA, and Astrum as I go to sleep or nap. As such, I’m always on the lookout for new channels, podcasts, or videos to add to my list.

Unfortunately, that is where things have become problematic. This is a niche that, in recent years, has become overrun with AI-generated content. While I’m not eager to support AI-generated content regardless of quality, the more immediate issue was that the videos were terrible, filled with bad information, often inconsistent within the video itself, and, at times, made little sense.

However, since these channels can crank out multi-hour videos daily, they’re able to fill YouTube and overrun my video recommendations. To make matters worse, almost none of the videos were disclosed. 

So I was skeptical when I ran across another channel that was recommended for me. To be clear, the channel didn’t have any of the obvious AI markers. The channel information was filled in, and, at the time, it only had a couple of videos. Listening to the videos, they were also fairly consistent and accurate. 

But then doubt crept in. Between odd pronunciations, some “tortured phrasing,” and other signs, I realized that it was AI. Sure enough, just a week later, the channel had over a dozen multi-hour “documentaries.” But then I noticed something different: they (or YouTube) had actually disclosed they were AI-generated.

So why did I feel so betrayed in the moment? Because I never saw the disclosure and, even after reading it, I had no idea what was and was not AI-generated.

That, in turn, frustrated me even more.

The Importance of Disclosure

Disclosures are important. They are tools used to convey information to the audience that may change the context they put the work they are consuming in. This is most often done when there is some sort of potential conflict of interest.

Disclosures are important for the readers because they recontextualize the work, but they are also important for creators, for whom this transparency is a shield against accusations of bad faith.

However, for disclosures to be effective, they need to be highly visible and contain all the relevant information. This is where the YouTube AI disclosure falls short. 

First, as someone who listens to a lot of videos as podcasts (through YouTube Premium), I never saw the disclosure. There was no audible indication that the video was AI-generated and the text version was buried in the description, well below the “more” button. The video itself had a brief disclosure in the opening seconds, but it is incredibly brief and easy to miss.

But, even if you did see the disclosure, it doesn’t really answer the questions you may have. What exactly is AI-generated? If it is the visuals? The audio? The writing? All of the above?

The disclosure simply read, “Altered or synthetic content – Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated. Learn more.” Clicking “learn more” simply takes you to the page above.

It’s remarkably similar to the disclosure YouTube uses for videos that have had captions automatically generated. However, those captions are added to the video and are not part of the video itself. It’s a service that YouTube offers to improve accessibility, not an indication that the video was not made by humans.

Those two things are not similar. But YouTube treats them as such. That alone makes this disclosure inadequate.

That, in turn, means creators need to take matters into their own hands.

Not Just for Wrongdoing

One of the misconceptions about disclosures is that they are only for people who have done something wrong or something that might be perceived as wrong. Disclosures can and should be used to give the audience any important information they need to contextualize the work.

A good example of this is what happened last week with President Studio, the makers of Crime Scene Cleaner. They were falsely accused of using AI-generated content in their game. However, the assets in question were purchased from a third party, and, if the assets were AI-generated, it was not disclosed to them. 

History of the Universe, the YouTube channel I highlighted above, has had similar issues. Though their channel predates generative AI, they have been accused of using AI in their videos. They have regularly posted about the issue, highlighted the people who make their content, and include full credits in their descriptions. This includes the narrator, the art, the editing, and more. 

Disclosures like this are incredibly powerful. They tell the audience who creates the work, how AI is used (if at all), and what to expect from the work itself. It gives the audience the information they need to set their own expectations.

It might seem silly to write a disclosure for something that you don’t do. But we’re in a time where any work can be suspected of being AI-generated. Even works that predate generative AI are being accused of being fake. 

As such, I have decided to take my own advice. I have created a disclosure for this site that you can find at this link. 

To be clear, this is an early draft of this work, and it will likely be updated and edited. However, it attempts to make things incredibly clear but still acknowledge ways that AI content could appear on this site, even if I didn’t intend for it to appear here.

My goal here is to be as transparent as possible, perhaps excessively so. I don’t expect most people will care where the images on this site come from. However, if an AI image does slip through, I want this here today to show that I was being clear and transparent.

Bottom Line

Sadly, using AI is not a binary decision. It’s not a matter of do you use AI or not, it’s a matter of how might AI intrude into your work.

Some of it is a choice. I use various grammar checking tools to help reduce mistakes in my writing. Five years ago, that wasn’t controversial at all. Today, many of those same companies advertise themselves as AI-first and offer AI-generation as a service. It’s not enough to just do what you did before AI, AI has entered those spaces whether you want it or not.

Honest creators are in a strange position. Whether you are a student, a filmmaker, a musician, a writer, or anything else, the tools you’ve long relied upon are increasingly becoming tied to AI. Even web browsers are baking in AI features.

In creating that AI disclosure, I am not just trying to be transparent with my audience, I’m setting rules and boundaries for myself.

I can’t control how AI intrudes on the various spaces connected to this site. I can only control what I do and make a good faith effort to hold myself and this site to the standards I have set. Part of that is being honest and transparent about how this site is created. Part of that, in turn, is discussing AI.

It’s just a reality of being a human creator in the year 2026.