TikTok Debuts New Tools And Technology To Label AI Content



As more creators turn to AI for their artistic expression, there’s also a broader push for transparency around when AI was involved in content creation, TechCrunch reported. To address this concern, TikTok announced today it will launch a new tool that will allow creators to label their AI-generated content and will begin testing other ways to label AI-generated content automatically.

According to TechCrunch, the company says it felt the need to introduce AI labeling because AI content can potentially confuse or mislead viewers. Of course, TikTok had already updated its policy to address synthetic media, which requires people to label AI content that contains realistic images, audio, or video, like deepfakes, to help viewers contextualize the video and prevent the spread of misleading info.

However, TechCrunch reported, outside of the extreme case of using AI to intentionally mislead users, some AI-generated content can toe the line between seeming real or fake. In this gray area, more transparency is generally appreciated by end users so they know whether or not the content they’re viewing has been heavily edited or created with AI.

Billboard reported TikTok announced new tools to help creators label content that was generated by artificial intelligence. In addition, the company said on Tuesday that it plans to “start testing ways to label AI-generated content automatically.”

“AI enables incredible creative opportunities, but can potentially confuse or mislead viewers if they’re not aware content was generated or edited with AI,” the company wrote. “Labeling content helps address this, by making clear to viewers when content is significantly altered or modified by AI technology.”

According to Billboard, in July, President Biden’s administration announced that seven leading AI companies made voluntary commitments “to help move toward safe, secure, and transparent development of AI technology.”

One key point: “The companies commit to developing robust technical mechanisms to ensure that users know when content is AI generated, such as a watermarking system. This action enables creativity with AI to flourish but reduces the dangers fraud and deception.”

Engadget reported TikTok is rolling out a toolset that lets users label posts that have been created or enhanced by artificial intelligence. This move comes after the social media giant added a number of filters for video uploads that made heavy use of AI, and an image generator to help create unique backgrounds.

According to Engadget, the filters are being renamed to make it clearer which ones rely on generative AI to further assist with labeling. Moving forward, these filters will have “AI” in the name somewhere.

The new labels aren’t exclusive to TikTok approved filters, Engadget reported. You can slap the label on any content that’s been completely generated or significantly edited in AI, no matter where the content has been sourced from.

In my opinion, I think it is a good idea for TikTok to enforce the labeling of AI-content that has been posted to their platform. The labels should be clear enough to make it easy for viewers to understand that what they are seeing has been created by, or enhanced with, AI.