YouTube is going all-in on AI

Plus, U.S. and U.K. say “no thanks” to AI Summit Agreement.

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Tak Lo & Daniel Akpobare
February 12, 2025

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Hello and welcome to the Automated, your AI tour guide.

YouTube’s CEO, Neal Mohan, just made one thing clear: AI isn’t just a tool—it’s the future of the platform.

In his annual letter, he laid out YouTube’s big AI vision for 2025, and let’s just say, it’s bold, controversial, and a little bit sci-fi.

Here’s what we have for you today:

  • 🧐 YouTube’s 2025 AI Plan: The Good, the Bad, and the Potential Chaos.

  • 🌎 U.S. and U.K. Say “No Thanks” to AI Summit Agreement.

  • 📈 How to leverage generative AI for small business growth.

  • 🔍 How to easily search the internet with ChatGPT Search.

  • 🤖 ChatGPT Prompt Of The Day: Process Automation & Optimization.

🧐 YouTube’s 2025 AI Plan: The Good, the Bad, and the Potential Chaos.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan just dropped his annual letter, and—no shocker here—AI is a huge part of the platform’s future.

He called AI one of YouTube’s four “big bets” for 2025, and they’re going all in.

The company has been rolling out AI-powered tools for creators, and this time they are including video idea generators, thumbnail creators, and language translation.

And this month, YouTube Partner Program members will get access to AI auto-dubbing, making it easier than ever to reach global audiences—without butchering a second language.

But not everyone is thrilled about AI’s growing role in content creation.

Some fear it’ll flood YouTube with low-quality, AI-generated junk, while others argue AI is just another tool—one that can enhance creativity rather than replace it.

Either way, YouTube is bracing for potential chaos by expanding its AI detection efforts.

Remember last year’s AI safeguards for creators, actors, athletes and musicians? Well, they’re doubling down.

YouTube is expanding its pilot program with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to help people identify and manage AI-generated content that mimics their face or voice.

And speaking of AI stepping in where humans used to, YouTube is also rolling out machine-learning tech to estimate users’ ages and serve them age-appropriate content.

Sure, it sounds smart in theory, but Mohan didn’t explain exactly how it’ll work—or what happens if the AI mistakes a 25-year-old for a 13-year-old (or vice versa).

For context, platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram have been experimenting with age verification for years, with, let’s just say, mixed results.

So, let’s see if YouTube’s AI can actually tell a baby-faced 30-year-old from an unusually mature-looking teenager. Either way, expect some chaos.

Beyond AI, YouTube’s other big bets include:

  • Solidifying its role as the cultural hub (a title TikTok has been stealing for a while now)

  • Positioning YouTubers as the new Hollywood A-listers

  • And doubling down on TV screens (which, for the first time, have surpassed mobile as the most popular way to watch YouTube in the U.S.)

The bottom line? YouTube isn’t just embracing AI—it’s trying to shape the future of content creation while keeping the chaos in check.

Whether it becomes an AI-powered paradise or a messy jungle of deepfakes and robot voices… Well, that’s still up for debate.

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 🌎 U.S. and U.K. Say “No Thanks” to AI Summit Agreement.

The Paris AI Action Summit was meant to be a show of global unity, with world leaders coming together to sign a joint declaration on AI governance.

But in a dramatic twist, both the U.S. and the U.K. refused to sign, leaving everyone wondering—why the cold feet?

Meanwhile, 61 other countries, including China, India, Japan, and Canada, moved full steam ahead, pledging to develop AI that’s “open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure, and trustworthy.”

While the summit didn’t aim as high as previous AI agreements like the Bletchley and Seoul declarations, it still pushed for global cooperation on AI governance.

But the U.S. made its stance loud and clear.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance took the stage, declaring that AI should stay free from “ideological bias” and that American AI would not become a tool for “authoritarian censorship.”

In short? The U.S. plans to maintain its AI dominance on its own terms.

Despite the U.S. and U.K.'s absence, the declaration still won strong international support. But not everyone was thrilled with the outcome.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called it a “missed opportunity,” urging world leaders to advance their game and tackle AI’s growing challenges faster.

And with more countries potentially joining the agreement post-summit, the story isn’t over yet.

Meanwhile, AI regulation—or the lack of it—was a hot topic throughout the event.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen doubled down on the EU AI Act, emphasizing that it simplifies regulations across the bloc’s 27 member states, making it easier for businesses to navigate AI rules.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron had a slightly different take. He called on Europe to loosen up AI regulations and return to the global race, arguing that too many rules could stifle innovation.

At the same time, he acknowledged that international governance is necessary to prevent AI fragmentation, trying to balance both sides of the debate.

For the U.S., skipping the AI Action Summit declaration is just the latest in a series of moves to avoid international commitments.

Under Trump’s new administration, the country has already pulled out of multiple global agreements, and this AI summit consensus is now part of that list.

The Paris AI Action Summit may be over, but the debate over global AI governance is just heating up.

Will more countries join the agreement, or will geopolitical tensions shape AI’s future in unexpected ways?

Read the full story and catch up on all the latest developments!

✍️ Editors Corner.

As we’re heading to our 2-year mark, I just wanted to say a great big thank you to our subscribers, many of whom have been with us for the entire time.

We’ve delivered to 16,000 of you 420 posts and 840,000 words, and we look forward to delivering more value in the future.

I’m very proud of the team for consistently delivering great quality content to you in your inbox, ensuring that we cover the most relevant AI and business news.

They’ve gone above and beyond to deliver you ebooks like Atomic Prompts, which many of you received through your quality referrals.

In the future, you will hear from me more, and you can always reach out to me directly at [email protected].

Cheers,

Tak Lo(Editor at The Automated, AI entrepreneur and thought leader. More at thetaklo.com)

🧱Around The AI Block

  • Pika Labs: AI-powered video generation tool that creates stunning animations from text and images.

  • Claude AI: An AI assistant by Anthropic designed for safe, conversational, and context-aware interactions.

  • Steve AI: Convert text into animated and live-action videos using AI, perfect for marketing and storytelling.

  • Clipdrop: AI tool for background removal, image relighting, and cleanup, ideal for designers and marketers.

  • ChatPDF: AI-powered tool that lets you interact with PDFs, summarize content, and extract key insights.

🤖ChatGPT Prompt Of The Day: Process Automation & Optimization.

The word that is literally at the tip of the tongue of all the decision-makers is Automation. It’s a trend, it’s essential, and it’s efficient.

That is why companies worldwide are increasingly automating projects to help teams across departments leverage their skills more efficiently.

Here's a prompt to help you design the automation path for your team: 

Describe a typical [type of process, e.g., social media marketing process, customer onboarding process, content creation workflow], including all steps involved, from [starting point] to [end point]. Identify areas where automation can be applied to streamline this process.
Discuss tools and technologies that can be used for [process type] automation.
Describe a hypothetical scenario where a [relevant team or individual] could benefit from automation. Research and describe best practices for automating [type of process].

We've Compiled a List of Over 100 ChatGPT Power Prompts.

This should help streamline your interactions with ChatGPT and get the results you need more efficiently.

Best of all, It's free!

That's all we've got for you today.

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