TikTok Grants Viewers Control to Decrease Artificial Intelligence-Made Content in Their Feeds

Users will soon have a new feature that permits them to lessen the volume of artificial intelligence-produced content appearing in their streams. This move comes as the platform revealed that it now features over 1 billion content made with AI.

Testing and Rollout

The update is being tested over the next few weeks before a widespread launch. This advancement coincides with a rise in content created by AI, fueled by recent video-generation tools.

AI Content on Other Platforms

Recent reports that nearly one in 10 of the quickest rising channels on a competing service only show content made by AI. A large amount of this content is considered mass-produced AI material, a phrase for substandard, bulk-generated content that is often nonsensical or surreal.

“We know from our community that a lot of users appreciate content made with AI tools, ranging from AI artwork to educational videos, and we aim to give people the option to see more or less of that, depending on their own choices,” stated a company executive.

Volume and Proportions

The platform announced that there are currently 1.3 billion videos on its service labeled as AI-generated. In total, over 100 m videos are submitted to the service each day, making clips made by AI a minor part of its overall inventory.

Customizing Your Feed

Members will be able to limit or boost the level of artificial media they see by opening the content preference option in the app and selecting “AI-generated content”. Other topics that can already be modified under the tool include news, style, aesthetics, and choreography.

Content Labeling and Policies

The platform’s guidelines mandate creators to label “realistic” AI-made content, and it prohibits harmful fake videos of public figures or emergencies. Any authentic-looking artificial content that is not labeled can be taken down under its community policies.

Additionally, the app will now apply an artificially created tag to content made using its own AI tools, or identified by an collaborative effort for identifying content made by AI. This measure is aimed to stop users from attempting to bypass the tagging system.

Responsible AI Funding

TikTok is furthermore launching a $2m educational fund for experts and organizations to produce informative material about responsible artificial intelligence. This program will assist non-profit groups focused on educating coding and technology.

Platform Protection

TikTok has justified its moderation strategy, amid debate over plans to cut jobs for hundreds of content moderators in the UK. TikTok is planning to cut a significant number of roles in its trust and safety department in the UK capital, with worker representatives and digital protection specialists raising concerns that staff are being displaced by automated systems.

A senior executive stated that people-led review would still have a role, but automated tools can shield workers by eliminating the most distressing content before it is viewed by humans. TikTok reported a significant reduction in shocking and graphic content handled by content reviewers over the last 12 months due to the use of its AI tools.

It is vital to combine people and machines to maintain a secure environment,” the executive stated. “We’ll have people as integral to the approach, but we additionally believe it’s extremely critical to limit contact with harmful content as rapidly, which is why a extensive automated help is making a difference work at speed.”
Joseph Larson
Joseph Larson

Cybersecurity researcher with 15 years of experience, formerly at NATO Cyber Defence Centre.