TikTok is introducing a updated setting that enables them to reduce the quantity of artificial intelligence-produced videos appearing in their feeds. This move comes as the platform announced that it now features over 1 billion content made with AI.
Testing and Rollout
The new functionality is being tested over the following weeks before a widespread rollout. This shift coincides with a rise in AI content, spurred by emerging video-generation tools.
The Broader AI Trend
Studies have shown that almost 10% of the most rapidly expanding channels on a competing service only show clips produced artificially. A considerable share of this content is considered mass-produced AI material, a phrase for inferior, mass-produced content that is often illogical or bizarre.
“We know from our community that numerous viewers enjoy content made with AI tools, ranging from computer-generated images to informative clips, and we intend to give people the power to see more or less of that, based on their own likes,” said a spokesperson.
Scale of AI Content
The platform shared that there are now over a billion videos on its app identified as artificially created. In total, in excess of 100 mn media items are added to the platform each day, making clips made by AI a relatively small percentage of its total content library.
User Control Features
Members will be in a position to decrease or raise the volume of artificial media they see by accessing the “manage topic” feature in the app and choosing “AI-generated content”. Other topics that are already be controlled under the setting include politics, clothing, cosmetics, and choreography.
Content Labeling and Policies
The platform’s rules mandate content makers to identify “realistic” artificially created content, and it prohibits harmful deepfakes of public figures or emergencies. Any authentic-looking AI-generated clip that is without a tag can be removed under its community policies.
In addition, the platform will from now on add an artificially created tag to content made using its proprietary AI systems, or identified by an industry-wide initiative for spotting artificial media. This step is designed to stop users from trying to evade the disclosure requirement.
Responsible AI Funding
The company is also launching a $2m AI literacy fund for experts and groups to develop informative material about responsible artificial intelligence. This project will support educational bodies dedicated to teaching programming and robotics.
Moderation Strategy
The video-sharing app has justified its moderation strategy, amid discussion over intentions to cut jobs for hundreds of content moderators in the UK. TikTok is set to eliminate a significant number of roles in its trust and safety department in the UK capital, with worker representatives and online safety experts voicing alarm that staff are being displaced by AI moderation.
A senior executive clarified that staff-based oversight would continue to be important, but artificial intelligence can safeguard staff by filtering out the most distressing content ahead of it has to be seen by staff. The platform announced a notable drop in shocking and graphic content seen by content reviewers over the last 12 months due to the use of its AI tools.
“We think that it’s essential to balance staff and AI to keep the platform safe,” the official commented. “We’ll have staff as integral to the approach, but we additionally believe it’s highly necessary to minimize viewing of harmful content as swiftly, which is where a significant AI assistance is proving valuable work at speed.”
