TikTok is introducing a updated setting that allows them to lessen the quantity of AI-made media appearing in their feeds. This move comes as the platform announced that it currently hosts more than 1 bn content made with AI.
Testing and Rollout
The new functionality is in a pilot phase over the next few weeks before a full-scale rollout. This shift aligns with a increase in AI-generated material, driven by new content generation software.
The Broader AI Trend
Studies have shown that nearly a tenth of the fastest-growing content creators on a competing service exclusively feature content made by AI. A significant portion of this content is considered mass-produced AI material, a phrase for inferior, mass-produced content that is typically illogical or bizarre.
“We know from our community that a lot of users appreciate content made with AI tools, ranging from computer-generated images to science explainers, and we intend to provide users the ability to adjust the amount of that, based on their own likes,” commented a company executive.
Volume and Proportions
The service announced that there are currently 1.3bn videos on its service tagged as artificially created. Collectively, more than 100 million videos are added to the service daily, making AI-generated material a limited part of its overall inventory.
How to Adjust Settings
Viewers will be able to decrease or raise the level of AI content they watch by accessing the content preference option in the app and choosing “AI-generated content”. Additional categories that currently be controlled under the filter include current affairs, clothing, aesthetics, and choreography.
Content Labeling and Policies
TikTok’s rules mandate creators to label “realistic” AI-made content, and it prohibits dangerous AI impersonations of public figures or emergencies. Any authentic-looking artificial content that is not labeled can be removed under its terms of service.
In addition, the platform will now apply an artificially created label to content produced via its proprietary AI systems, or identified by an collaborative effort for identifying artificial media. This step is designed to stop users from seeking to evade the tagging system.
AI Literacy Programs
The company is additionally introducing a two million dollar educational fund for experts and organizations to create informative material about using AI responsibly. This project will benefit charitable organizations focused on teaching programming and robotics.
Moderation Strategy
The video-sharing app has supported its moderation strategy, during controversy over proposals to lay off numerous content moderators in the United Kingdom. It is set to cut a significant number of roles in its trust and safety team in the UK capital, with worker representatives and internet security professionals raising concerns that humans are being replaced by AI moderation.
A company official stated that staff-based oversight would continue to be important, but automated tools can safeguard staff by eliminating the most harmful content prior to it is viewed by humans. TikTok reported a notable drop in explicit and harmful content reviewed by safety staff over the last 12 months due to the use of its machine learning processes.
It is vital to balance staff and AI to keep the platform safe,” she said. “We’ll have humans as involved in the system, but we also think it’s highly necessary to minimize viewing of dangerous material as quickly as possible, which is where a significant AI assistance is making a difference process content quickly.”
