Inundated with slop, TikTok tests feature that will let users request to 'see less' AI generated content in their feeds

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok Inc., speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. Photographer: Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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 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.

A mockup image of two phones showing TikTok's new AI control toggle. — (Image credit: TikTok)

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."

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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