TikTok Empowers Users to Control AI-Generated Content Amid Surge in Synthetic Videos
TikTok is responding to growing concerns about the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content on its platform by giving users greater control over what they see. The video-sharing app revealed it currently hosts over 1 billion videos identified as AI-generated, a figure that underscores the rapid expansion of synthetic media online.
The new feature, currently in testing wiht a planned global rollout in the coming weeks, allows users to reduce or increase the amount of AI-generated content in thier “for You” feeds.This comes as increasingly sophisticated video-generating tools – such as OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 3 – fuel a dramatic increase in AI-produced videos across social media.
According to a report from The Guardian in August, nearly one in ten of the fastest-growing YouTube channels globally are dedicated solely to AI-generated videos. Many of thes fall into the category of “To SALOP,” a term describing low-quality, mass-produced content frequently enough characterized by nonsensical or surreal imagery.
“We certainly no from our community that many people enjoy content made with AI tools, from digital art to science explainers, and we want to give people the power to see more or less of that, based on their own preferences,” stated Jade Nester, TikTok’s European director of public policy for safety and privacy.
TikTok announced the change at its annual European trust and safety forum in Dublin, highlighting the scale of AI content on its platform. While 1.3 billion videos are currently labelled as AI-generated, this represents a relatively small portion of the more than 100 million pieces of content uploaded to TikTok daily. Users will access the new control through the app’s “manage topic” settings, alongside existing options for topics like current affairs, fashion, beauty, and dance.
The platform’s guidelines already require creators to label “realistic” AI-made content, and prohibit harmful deepfakes depicting public figures or crisis events. Unlabelled realistic AI videos are subject to removal under TikTok’s community policies. To further combat circumvention, TikTok will now automatically attach an “AI-made” watermark to content created using its own AI tools, and also material flagged by the Content Authenticity Initiative (C2PA), an industry-wide effort to identify AI-generated material.
Along with these measures, TikTok is launching a $2 million (£1.5 million) AI literacy fund. This initiative will support experts and organizations – including Girls Who Code, a non-profit focused on programming and robotics education – in creating educational content promoting the responsible use of AI.
The move comes amidst scrutiny of TikTok’s content moderation strategies. The company is facing criticism over plans to eliminate 439 positions within its trust and safety team in London. Trade unions and online safety advocates have expressed concerns that these cuts signal a shift towards relying more heavily on AI for moderation, potentially at the expense of human oversight.
Brie Pegum, TikTok’s global head of programme management for trust and safety, emphasized that human moderation will remain a crucial component of the platform’s safety efforts. Though, she explained that AI can play a vital role in protecting moderators by filtering out the most disturbing content before it reaches human reviewers. according to TikTok, automated systems have contributed to a 76% decrease in shocking and graphic content viewed by human moderators over the past year.
“We think that it’s essential to balance humans and technology to keep the platform safe,” Pegum said. “We’ll have humans as part of that process, but we also think it’s very significant to reduce exposure to harmful content as quickly as possible, which is where a lot of the machine support is really helping us work at speed.”
TikTok’s efforts to address the challenges posed by AI-generated content reflect a broader industry reckoning with the implications of increasingly powerful synthetic media technologies. The platform’s new tools aim to empower users while navigating the complex landscape of AI and its impact on online experiences.
