TikTok is introducing a new feature that enables them to reduce the volume of artificial intelligence-produced videos appearing in their timelines. This initiative comes as the service disclosed that it currently hosts more than 1 thousand million AI-generated clips.
Pilot Phase and Launch
The new functionality is undergoing trials over the following weeks before a global release. This shift coincides with a surge in content created by AI, driven by new AI video creators.
AI Proliferation Online
It has been noted that approximately one in 10 of the fastest-growing channels on a popular video site primarily display clips produced artificially. A large amount of this material is classified as low-quality AI content, a phrase for substandard, mass-produced content that is often nonsensical or surreal.
“We know from our community that a lot of users appreciate content created using AI tools, including digital art to educational videos, and we want to give people the option to increase or decrease of that, based on their own choices,” said a company executive.
Volume and Proportions
The platform disclosed that there are currently 1.3bn videos on its network tagged as artificially created. Collectively, more than 100 million videos are uploaded to the app every day, making clips made by AI a relatively small part of its total content library.
How to Adjust Settings
Viewers will be capable of decrease or raise the volume of artificial media they watch by opening the “manage topic” feature in the application and choosing “AI-generated content”. Additional categories that can already be modified under the setting cover news, fashion, aesthetics, and dance.
AI Disclosure Rules
The platform’s rules require creators to identify “realistic” AI-generated content, and it bans harmful fake videos of well-known individuals or crisis events. Any realistic AI-generated clip that is without a tag can be taken down under its community policies.
Additionally, the app will from now on add an “AI-made” label to content made using its proprietary AI systems, or flagged by an industry-wide initiative for spotting AI-generated material. This measure is aimed to help prevent users from attempting to bypass the disclosure requirement.
Educational Initiatives
The company is furthermore launching a $2m educational fund for experts and organizations to develop informative material about ethical AI use. This program will benefit charitable organizations specializing in teaching programming and robotics.
Content Safety Approach
The video-sharing app has justified its moderation strategy, amid discussion over intentions to cut jobs for a large number of safety staff in the United Kingdom. TikTok is set to cut a significant number of roles in its content moderation team in its British office, with trade unions and online safety experts expressing worry that people are being substituted by machine-led review.
A trust and safety lead explained that people-led review would remain essential, but automated tools can protect employees by filtering out the most harmful content before it is viewed by staff. The platform reported a significant reduction in disturbing and violent content handled by human moderators over the previous year due to intervention by its automated systems.
“We think that it’s essential to balance staff and AI to maintain a secure environment,” she said. “We’ll have people as involved in the system, but we further consider it’s highly necessary to minimize viewing of harmful content as quickly as possible, which is where a significant AI assistance is making a difference process content quickly.”
