TikTok has rolled out new tools for content creators to label their content if it features material generated by artificial intelligence (AI), according to an official update.
The popular short-video platform is also exploring ways to label AI-generated content automatically. TikTok said AI could potentially confuse or mislead viewers if they are not aware of generative tools that have been deployed to create or edit content on the social media platform. Labelling such content will help keep viewers informed about the alterations or modifications afforded by AI applications and enable creators to comply with TikTok’s community guidelines concerning the synthetic content policy.
The policy applies to AI-generated content featuring “realistic images, audio or video” and comprises stickers and captions besides labels for AI disclosure. The new tools will help creators prevent the spread of misleading content by contextualising their content, according to the update. TikTok is also releasing “educational videos and resources” to help creators learn how and why to use the AI labelling tools. TikTok is also testing an AI-generated label that it plans to apply automatically to content in which AI-facilitated modifications are detected.
“To drive more clarity around AI-powered TikTok products, we are also renaming TikTok AI effects to explicitly include ‘AI’ in their name and corresponding effects label, and updated our guidelines for Effect House creators to do the same,” TikTok said. The development arrives as leading tech companies scramble to adopt measures related to AI technology across their social media platforms amid the rapid progress of generative AI tools. As for TikTok, the regulatory scrutiny is already mounting in the US and UK over data security concerns, leading to its parent company ByteDance to launch initiatives to appease lawmakers and regulators.
Earlier this month, Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube, announced mandating disclosures for political advertisements that feature AI-generated material. Although the requirement has been announced roughly a year ahead of the forthcoming US presidential election, it is expected to have a significant impact on electoral campaigns in other online markets, primarily the European Union (EU), India, and Africa, where Alphabet services are used heavily for political campaigning. Alphabet’s new rules related to AI will also apply to image, video, and audio content generated synthetically. The update would help support responsible political advertising, according to Alphabet.
The unprecedented rise in convenient generative AI tools has attracted widespread scrutiny and and regulatory concerns. It has prompted several countries to introduce legislation to govern AI platforms, including the highly popular chatbot, ChatGPT, whose maker OpenAI is backed by Microsoft with an investment worth billions of dollars. The need for AI regulations, among other challenges, stem from concerns related to the creation of child sexual abuse material and disinformation. Britain, Australia, China, and the EU are some of the regions that are actively working on drafting AI legislation. The UK is also holding a first ever AI Safety Summit next month (November), which will bring together tech bodies and civil society actors to discuss the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
