Understanding Security and Privacy Perceptions of Content Creators Regarding AI Labels of AI-Generated Content

Abstract

AI labels, typically implemented via underlying tracing mechanisms such as watermarks and metadata, are crucial for protecting Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content (AIGC) against security threats like disinformation and evasion. However, the perceived devaluation of AI-assisted work discourages creators from disclosing AI use, incentivizing efforts to bypass labeling and compromising downstream traceability. Yet, how AIGC creators perceive the security and privacy (S\&P) implications of these labels, and how their behaviors impact technical resilience remain underexplored. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 AIGC creators and measured images across 6 image generation platforms against 16 self-reported manipulation settings. Our findings reveal that creators conflate binary AI labels with granular traceability, and express strong fears of de-anonymization via platform identifiers. Driven by fears of algorithmic traffic suppression and reputational risks, they defensively removed digital traces. Through empirical tests, we show that targeted modifications like coarse quantization significantly degrade detection. AI detection capabilities are also inconsistent across platforms, and suffer from false positives even for human-authored images. Based on these insights, we advocate for workflow-resilient implicit AI labels that align technical guarantees with creators' incentives.