TikTok is currently testing a new feature that will let users request to "see less" AI generated content in their feeds, in an expansion to its AI control features which have thus far identified 1.3 billion AI generated videos posted to the platform.
The social media giant announced the new tools at its annual European trust and safety forum in Dublin. In a press release (via Engadget), TikTok stated that the app's "manage topics" section will be expanded with a new toggle "in the coming weeks".
This toggle will apparently help "dial things down" for people who don't want their feed clogged up with AI slop, though TikTok says the toggle is designed to "tailor" the range of videos in a feed "rather than removing or replacing content in feeds entirely." Hence, it sounds like you won't be able to opt out of seeing AI slop completely, only choose to see less of it.
This toggle will be joined by a new "invisible watermarking" feature for TikTok's own AI-infused editing tools and "content uploaded with C2PA Content Credentials." TikTok already requires users who post "realistic" AI generated content to label it appropriately, in part using those C2PA Credentials which embed metadata to help identify AI generated images and videos. This is how TikTok spotted more than a billion AI vids on the app.
However, TikTok says that "a common industry challenge is that these kinds of labels may be removed when content is reuploaded or edited elsewhere." The invisible watermarking tools are designed to help combat this.
TikTok is careful to avoid saying anything negative about generative AI, explicitly stating that it wants to "safeguard and empower positive experiences with AI"—whatever those are. But the general thrust of the release suggests that AI generated videos are becoming a problem for the company, or at least people using the app.
According to The Guardian, more than 100 million videos are posted to TikTok daily, which means the 1.3 billion AI videos it has identified still represents only a small amount of what's being uploaded to the app (though we don't know how many videos are currently escaping detection). But alongside all these AI control functions it's adding, TikTok says it's launching an $2m AI literacy fund for organisations like Girls Who Code, which is aimed to "create For You feed content that teaches people about AI literacy and safety".
That isn't something you do if people are already engaging with AI in a literate and safe manner, while everything together suggests that AI slop is becoming an image problem for TikTok. The company also recently came under fire over plans to make 439 roles in its trust and safety teams redundant, aiming to replace those moderation jobs with AI monitoring systems. The move was condemned by trade unions and online safety experts, though TikTok claimed the redundancies were part of a "reorganisation" that aimed to "evolve this critical function for the company with the benefit of technological advancements."
