TikTok is introducing a new feature that allows them to cut down on the quantity of AI-created media appearing in their streams. This initiative comes as the platform revealed that it now features over 1 bn content made with AI.
Trial and Implementation
This change is undergoing trials over the following weeks before a full-scale release. This development aligns with a rise in AI-generated material, spurred by emerging video-generation tools.
The Broader AI Trend
Recent reports that nearly 10% of the most rapidly expanding content creators on a popular video site primarily display clips produced artificially. A significant portion of this material is classified as low-quality AI content, a phrase for inferior, factory-style content that is frequently nonsensical or dreamlike.
“We know from our community that numerous viewers enjoy content created using AI tools, ranging from AI artwork to science explainers, and we want to give people the power to increase or decrease of that, based on their own choices,” said a spokesperson.
Volume and Proportions
TikTok announced that there are presently 1.3bn videos on its service identified as AI-generated. Collectively, more than 100 mn pieces of content are submitted to the app daily, making AI content a minor part of its overall inventory.
How to Adjust Settings
Users will be able to reduce or increase the level of AI-generated videos they see by opening the topic control option in the application and choosing “AI-generated content”. Further subjects that can already be controlled under the filter encompass news, clothing, aesthetics, and movement.
AI Disclosure Rules
The platform’s policies require creators to label lifelike AI-made content, and it forbids malicious AI impersonations of well-known individuals or critical incidents. Any authentic-looking AI-generated clip that is without a tag can be removed under its user guidelines.
In addition, the app will from now on apply an “AI-made” watermark to content created with its proprietary AI systems, or flagged by an collaborative effort for spotting content made by AI. This step is designed to deter users from seeking to bypass the tagging system.
Responsible AI Funding
The company is also establishing a $2m educational fund for experts and institutions to develop educational content about ethical AI use. This project will support charitable organizations focused on educating coding and technology.
Platform Protection
The platform has supported its content review process, amid discussion over proposals to lay off hundreds of safety staff in Britain. TikTok is set to reduce hundreds of positions in its trust and safety team in its British office, with worker representatives and online safety experts raising concerns that people are being substituted by machine-led review.
A trust and safety lead explained that staff-based oversight would continue to be important, but automated tools can protect employees by removing the most graphic content before it has to be seen by staff. The company announced a notable drop in explicit and harmful content reviewed by human moderators over the previous year due to the use of its automated systems.
It is vital to balance humans and technology to maintain a secure environment,” she said. “We’ll have humans as integral to the approach, but we additionally believe it’s highly necessary to reduce exposure to harmful content as rapidly, which is the area in which a significant AI assistance is making a difference process content quickly.”
