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the rise (and potential fall) of TikTok slop
After years of churning out new tools as fast as possible, it seems TikTok has recognised it has an ‘AI slop’ problem. The company has announced new measures to detect automated content, with options to filter and prioritise human creators.
Does TikTok have an ‘AI slop’ problem?
The short-form video platform has never been shy of controversy. From privacy concerns to a one-day US ban, TikTok has frequently made headlines for its questionable business model and shaky security measures. Now, in an interesting move, it seems the company may be admitting it has an AI problem, after years of aggressively rolling out automated features that encourage automated videos and images.
Earlier this month, TikTok announced a new initiative to directly address AI-generated content. This includes an expanded educational program for its users as well as an improved detection system that aims to boost transparency and clarity over what’s real and what isn’t. As SocialMediaToday outlines, a new hub will also be launched in the next few weeks that teaches users how to identify AI online.
That’s not all, either. TikTok says it will expand funding for AI literacy initiatives and bolster its own AI detection efforts to combat misinformation. It currently backs NoFiltr and Raspberry Pi Foundation, two digital safety organisations that work to combat harmful online content for young people and provide educational resources on emerging technologies. You can read the full, official statement here.
Why does this matter, you might be asking? Over the past two years, every tech company under the sun has been tripping over itself to roll out new AI tools as fast as possible in order to appease investors.
While some are genuinely useful, it has also led to a bubble of shoehorned, nonsensical features across many different services, with a wave of automated content that is diluting and drowning out real creators. This is having a knock-on effect for various industries across the world, which we’ve written about many times. It’s leaving Gen Z anxious but ultimately reliant on ChatGPT and other services, as their workflows and creative processes shift into a mix of automation and human input.
Up until now, every social media platform has championed AI as necessary, despite the clear erosion of quality control and a satisfying user experience.
It’s become much harder to find accurate information on particular content, especially on YouTube and Instagram. Understanding what might be a fake video is nearly impossible now too, as AI models become better at creating accurate-looking clips that are often mistaken for real. Remember that short video of Haaland at the World Cup becoming scared of his own reflection? All AI, baby, and barely anyone realised.
This added layer of ambiguity is arguably diminishing the usefulness of social media. If nothing can be verified properly and everything looks genuine, then it becomes impossible to trust any piece of content. That, in turn, is driving some social media use down, as more Gen Zers begin to question why they’re even on it in the first place, and politicians start taking notice of the genuine damage it might be causing. Australia and the UK have already introduced bans for under-16s in the past two years, with more likely to follow.
TikTok’s new measures are the first admission by a major tech platform that AI isn’t all completely positive, and are a recognition that human viewers don’t actually love watching a constant stream of automated nonsense. We should have seen the writing on the wall when Sora, a fully dedicated ‘social media’ platform of solely AI content, shut down due to an unprofitable business model earlier this year.
Is this the end of the AI era? Honestly, probably not, but it could be the first step toward a more balanced relationship with automated content – we’re hoping, at least.
See also:
- Why FIFA embraced IShowSpeed at the World Cup
- Gen Z worries about misinformation on social media. Why can’t they leave?
- Wimbledon bets on influencers to reach Gen Z
