TikTok is introducing a fresh option that allows them to cut down on the amount of AI-made content appearing in their timelines. This step comes as the platform revealed that it currently hosts in excess of 1 thousand million AI videos.
Testing and Rollout
The new functionality is in a pilot phase over the next few weeks before a full-scale rollout. This development coincides with a rise in content created by AI, driven by new content generation software.
The Broader AI Trend
Studies have shown that nearly a tenth of the most rapidly expanding channels on a competing service primarily display AI-generated videos. A large amount of this content is classified as low-quality AI content, a term for substandard, bulk-generated content that is frequently absurd or bizarre.
“We know from our community that numerous viewers enjoy content created using AI tools, from digital art to informative clips, and we intend to offer the community the option to see more or less of that, according to their own likes,” said a company executive.
Volume and Proportions
TikTok announced that there are presently over a billion videos on its app identified as artificially created. Overall, more than 100 m pieces of content are uploaded to the service each day, making AI content a minor percentage of its overall inventory.
How to Adjust Settings
Users will be able to limit or boost the volume of artificial media they watch by accessing the “manage topic” option in the platform and choosing “AI-generated content”. Additional categories that can already be adjusted under the filter cover politics, clothing, beauty, and movement.
Content Labeling and Policies
Its policies mandate content makers to tag “realistic” AI-generated content, and it prohibits harmful deepfakes of public figures or emergencies. Any realistic AI video that is without a tag can be deleted under its user guidelines.
Additionally, the service will from now on apply an AI-generated watermark to content produced via its built-in AI features, or detected by an cross-platform project for identifying AI-generated material. This measure is designed to help prevent users from seeking to bypass the disclosure requirement.
Educational Initiatives
The company is furthermore establishing a $2m AI literacy fund for specialists and institutions to create informative material about responsible artificial intelligence. This project will benefit educational bodies dedicated to educating programming and robotics.
Moderation Strategy
TikTok has justified its moderation strategy, amid debate over proposals to lay off a large number of safety staff in Britain. It is expected to cut a significant number of roles in its content moderation team in the UK capital, with trade unions and internet security professionals raising concerns that staff are being displaced by AI moderation.
A senior executive explained that human moderation would remain essential, but automated tools can safeguard staff by filtering out the most harmful content ahead of it gets reviewed by staff. The platform reported a notable drop in explicit and harmful content handled by human moderators over the past year due to intervention by its automated systems.
It is vital to integrate humans and technology to maintain a secure environment,” she said. “We’ll have humans as involved in the system, but we further consider it’s very important to reduce exposure to harmful content as rapidly, which is where a lot of the machine support is making a difference work at speed.”
