Google (GOOGL) Quietly Trains AI on YouTube Videos—Creators Left in the Dark

Google’s latest AI play sparks outrage—and not a single YouTuber saw it coming.

Subheader: The data gold rush just got darker

No permissions. No payouts. Just another day in the surveillance capitalism playground. Google’s been scraping YouTube videos to train its AI models, turning creator content into free training data. Wonder if they’ll spin this into another 'don’t be evil' press release?

Subheader: Wall Street shrugs, stock ticks up anyway

GOOGL shares barely flinched on the news—because when has Big Tech ever faced consequences? Another masterclass in monetizing other people’s work while the SEC naps at the wheel.

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As a result, some experts and creators are worried. Indeed, tools like Trace ID from a company called Vermillio, which is used to detect overlaps between AI-generated videos and original ones, have found that Veo 3 has created videos very similar to existing YouTube content. One example showed a Veo 3 video closely matched a video from creator Brodie Moss, with a score of 71 for the video and over 90 for just the audio. While some creators welcome the competition, others feel their work is being used unfairly, without credit, consent, or payment.

This news comes at a time when the entertainment world is pushing back, as Disney (DIS) and Universal (CMCSA) recently filed a lawsuit against AI company Midjourney for copyright issues. Google, meanwhile, says it will take legal responsibility if users face copyright complaints over content created with Veo 3. YouTube has also partnered with the Creative Artists Agency to help top talent manage how their image is used in AI. But some say YouTube’s tools aren’t reliable. In fact, U.S. lawmakers, like Senator Josh Hawley, argue that stronger rights are needed to protect people’s images and creations as AI advances.

Is Google Stock a Good Buy?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 29 Buys and nine Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average GOOGL price target of $199.11 per share implies 14.88% upside potential from current levels.