TikTok is introducing a fresh option that permits them to reduce the amount of AI-made media appearing in their timelines. This initiative comes as the service disclosed that it now features in excess of 1 bn content made with AI.
Testing and Rollout
The update is being tested over the following weeks before a global launch. This shift coincides with a rise in AI content, driven by new video-generation tools.
The Broader AI Trend
Studies have shown that nearly 10% of the quickest rising content creators on another major platform exclusively feature content made by AI. A considerable share of this output is deemed low-quality AI content, a term for substandard, mass-produced content that is often absurd or dreamlike.
“We know from our community that numerous viewers enjoy content created using AI tools, ranging from computer-generated images to educational videos, and we intend to offer the community the option to increase or decrease of that, based on their own likes,” said a platform representative.
Volume and Proportions
The platform announced that there are presently 1.3bn videos on its service identified as artificially created. Collectively, in excess of 100 mn pieces of content are added to the app every day, making clips made by AI a relatively small portion of its complete catalog.
User Control Features
Members will be in a position to reduce or increase the amount of AI-generated videos they view by accessing the topic control setting in the app and choosing AI-made media. Other topics that currently be adjusted under the filter cover politics, fashion, aesthetics, and dance.
Content Labeling and Policies
The platform’s guidelines mandate users to label “realistic” artificially created content, and it prohibits harmful AI impersonations of celebrities or emergencies. Any authentic-looking AI-generated clip that is not labeled can be taken down under its user guidelines.
Furthermore, the platform will now add an artificially created tag to content made using its built-in AI features, or flagged by an collaborative effort for identifying artificial media. This measure is intended to deter users from seeking to circumvent the labeling process.
Educational Initiatives
The platform is also establishing a $2 million AI literacy fund for professionals and institutions to produce informative material about ethical AI use. This initiative will benefit educational bodies dedicated to educating programming and robotics.
Content Safety Approach
The platform has supported its content review process, during discussion over plans to cut jobs for hundreds of safety staff in the UK. TikTok is set to cut hundreds of positions in its content moderation division in the UK capital, with worker representatives and online safety experts raising concerns that people are being substituted by machine-led review.
A trust and safety lead clarified that staff-based oversight would still have a role, but artificial intelligence can shield workers by eliminating the most distressing content before it gets reviewed by humans. The company reported a 76% decrease in disturbing and violent content reviewed by human moderators over the last 12 months due to intervention by its AI tools.
It is vital to balance people and machines to maintain a secure environment,” she said. “We’ll have staff as involved in the system, but we also think it’s very important to limit contact with unsafe media as quickly as possible, which is where a significant AI assistance is making a difference operate efficiently.”
