The platform is rolling out a new feature that enables them to cut down on the quantity of AI-made videos appearing in their timelines. This initiative comes as the platform revealed that it presently contains in excess of 1 thousand million content made with AI.
Trial and Implementation
The new functionality is being tested over the next few weeks before a global rollout. This development comes amid a surge in AI content, driven by recent video-generation tools.
AI Content on Other Platforms
Studies have shown that almost one in 10 of the quickest rising content creators on a popular video site exclusively feature clips produced artificially. A significant portion of this content is considered “AI slop”, a term for inferior, mass-produced content that is frequently absurd or surreal.
“We know from our community that a lot of users like content made with AI tools, from digital art to science explainers, and we aim to provide users the option to increase or decrease of that, according to their own preferences,” said a platform representative.
Scale of AI Content
TikTok shared that there are now over a billion videos on its service identified as artificially created. In total, more than 100 m media items are uploaded to the platform each day, making AI-generated material a relatively small part of its complete catalog.
User Control Features
Users will be capable of limit or boost the amount of artificial media they see by opening the “manage topic” option in the app and picking the AI content topic. Further subjects that can already be adjusted under the tool encompass current affairs, fashion, aesthetics, and movement.
AI Disclosure Rules
TikTok’s guidelines require users to identify “realistic” AI-made content, and it forbids malicious deepfakes of well-known individuals or crisis events. Any realistic artificial content that is unmarked can be deleted under its user guidelines.
Furthermore, the app will now apply an AI-generated watermark to content made using its proprietary AI systems, or identified by an collaborative effort for recognizing AI-generated material. This step is intended to deter users from attempting to circumvent the disclosure requirement.
Responsible AI Funding
TikTok is additionally launching a $2m awareness program for professionals and institutions to produce informative material about ethical AI use. This project will assist charitable organizations dedicated to teaching coding and technology.
Platform Protection
TikTok has justified its content review process, during discussion over proposals to lay off hundreds of safety staff in the UK. The company is expected to reduce 439 jobs in its user protection department in London, with trade unions and digital protection specialists voicing alarm that staff are being displaced by AI moderation.
A trust and safety lead explained that staff-based oversight would still have a role, but AI can protect employees by filtering out the most graphic content before it is viewed by people. The platform reported a notable drop in explicit and harmful content reviewed by human moderators over the last 12 months due to reliance on its AI tools.
We believe it is crucial to integrate people and machines to ensure user safety,” the executive stated. “We’ll have people as involved in the system, but we further consider it’s very important to limit contact with dangerous material as swiftly, which is the area in which a lot of the machine support is really helping us operate efficiently.”
