China bans AI-generated media without watermarks
Enlarge / An unmarked AI-generated image of China's flag, which will be illegal in China after January 10, 2023. (credit: Ars Technica)
China's Cyberspace Administration recently issued regulations prohibiting the creation of AI-generated media without clear labels, such as watermarks-among other policies-reports The Register. The new rules come as part of China's evolving response to the generative AI trend that has swept the tech world in 2022, and they will take effect on January 10, 2023.
In China, the Cyberspace Administration oversees the regulation, oversight, and censorship of the Internet. Under the new regulations, the administration will keep a closer eye on what it calls "deep synthesis" technology.
In a news post on the website of China's Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the government outlined its reasons for issuing the regulation. It pointed to the recent wave of text, image, voice, and video synthesis AI, which China recognizes as important to future economic growth (translation via Google Translate):