TikTok is introducing a updated setting that enables them to lessen the volume of AI-created content appearing in their feeds. This move comes as the company announced that it presently contains more than 1 bn AI videos.
Pilot Phase and Launch
The update is being tested over the following weeks before a widespread rollout. This development coincides with a surge in content created by AI, fueled by emerging AI video creators.
AI Proliferation Online
Studies have shown that nearly one in 10 of the most rapidly expanding channels on a competing service primarily display clips produced artificially. A large amount of this content is deemed “AI slop”, a term for inferior, bulk-generated content that is frequently illogical or dreamlike.
Our research shows that numerous viewers appreciate content produced via AI tools, including digital art to educational videos, and we want to give people the power to adjust the amount of that, according to their own preferences,” commented a company executive.
Scale of AI Content
TikTok disclosed that there are presently 1.3 billion videos on its app tagged as made with AI. Collectively, over 100 million videos are submitted to the platform each day, making AI content a minor percentage of its complete catalog.
How to Adjust Settings
Viewers will be in a position to reduce or increase the volume of AI content they watch by accessing the “manage topic” option in the app and picking the AI content topic. Additional categories that currently be adjusted under the setting include news, fashion, beauty, and choreography.
AI Disclosure Rules
Its guidelines require creators to label convincing AI-made content, and it prohibits malicious fake videos of public figures or critical incidents. Any authentic-looking AI-generated clip that is without a tag can be taken down under its terms of service.
Additionally, the app will henceforth add an AI-generated watermark to content created with its proprietary AI systems, or flagged by an collaborative effort for identifying AI-generated material. This action is intended to help prevent users from trying to evade the labeling process.
Educational Initiatives
TikTok is additionally establishing a $2 million AI literacy fund for specialists and institutions to develop informative material about ethical AI use. This program will support charitable organizations specializing in training coding and technology.
Platform Protection
The platform has defended its moderation strategy, during debate over plans to cut jobs for a large number of content moderators in the UK. The company is planning to cut a significant number of roles in its user protection department in London, with trade unions and internet security professionals voicing alarm that humans are being replaced by automated systems.
A trust and safety lead stated that human moderation would continue to be important, but artificial intelligence can safeguard staff by removing the most distressing content ahead of it gets reviewed by humans. The company stated a notable drop in disturbing and violent content handled by human moderators over the past year due to intervention by its machine learning processes.
“We think that it’s essential to combine humans and technology to keep the platform safe,” she said. “We’ll have staff as involved in the system, but we also think it’s extremely critical to minimize viewing of unsafe media as rapidly, which is the area in which a extensive automated help is really helping us process content quickly.”
