The '#ai' label on YouTube has completed its transition from a content descriptor to a distribution tactic. A hydraulic press video tagged '#ai #shorts #viral #machine #pipe #gold' [4] is not making a claim about artificial intelligence — it is using the tag as a reach mechanism, knowing the algorithm treats topic signals and engagement signals as equivalent. A viewer's complaint that a video inexplicably pivoted from large language model coverage to drone obstacle avoidance is not an outlier; it is the product of content assembled for watch-time rather…