TikTok is introducing a updated setting that allows them to lessen the volume of artificial intelligence-produced media appearing in their streams. This move comes as the service announced that it currently hosts in excess of 1 billion content made with AI.
Trial and Implementation
This change is in a pilot phase over the next few weeks before a full-scale rollout. This advancement coincides with a surge in AI content, fueled by new video-generation tools.
AI Proliferation Online
Studies have shown that approximately one in 10 of the most rapidly expanding channels on a popular video site primarily display clips produced artificially. A considerable share of this output is considered low-quality AI content, a phrase for poor-quality, factory-style content that is typically illogical or dreamlike.
“We know from our community that numerous viewers appreciate content produced via AI tools, including AI artwork to science explainers, and we want to give people the ability to see more or less of that, according to their own preferences,” stated a company executive.
Volume and Proportions
The platform shared that there are presently 1.3bn videos on its app tagged as AI-generated. In total, more than 100 m pieces of content are added to the app daily, making clips made by AI a minor portion of its overall inventory.
User Control Features
Members will be in a position to reduce or increase the amount of artificial media they view by using the “manage topic” feature in the platform and selecting the AI content topic. Additional categories that currently be controlled under the filter include news, clothing, beauty, and choreography.
Content Labeling and Policies
The platform’s guidelines oblige users to tag lifelike AI-generated content, and it forbids dangerous AI impersonations of celebrities or emergencies. Any realistic artificial content that is without a tag can be taken down under its community policies.
Additionally, the app will henceforth attach an artificially created watermark to content produced via its proprietary AI systems, or identified by an cross-platform project for identifying content made by AI. This measure is aimed to help prevent users from seeking to evade the tagging system.
Responsible AI Funding
TikTok is furthermore launching a $2 million awareness program for experts and institutions to develop learning resources about ethical AI use. This program will benefit charitable organizations specializing in training computer science.
Moderation Strategy
The platform has justified its moderation strategy, following controversy over intentions to make redundant a large number of content moderators in the UK. The company is expected to eliminate 439 jobs in its content moderation team in London, with worker representatives and digital protection specialists raising concerns that people are being substituted by machine-led review.
A trust and safety lead explained that human moderation would remain essential, but AI can safeguard staff by removing the most graphic content ahead of it has to be seen by staff. The platform reported a 76% decrease in explicit and harmful content seen by human moderators over the past year due to the use of its automated systems.
“We think that it’s essential to integrate people and machines to keep the platform safe,” she said. “We’ll have people as part of that process, but we also think it’s highly necessary to minimize viewing of dangerous material as quickly as possible, which is where a lot of the machine support is making a difference process content quickly.”
