TikTok says it’s working on automatic AI content detection, as it rolls out new ‘AI-generated’ label for creators

With AI-generated content proliferating across the digital media world, one key request from policymakers and civil society groups has been for that content to be labeled.

The idea is to prevent AI-generated content from misleading audiences, for example with “deepfakes” that can make it appear that a person said something they never actually said, or make it appear that a musical artist performed a song that they never actually recorded (see the infamous “fake Drake” controversy from earlier this year.)

Now, TikTok has become the latest media company to take action in this regard, announcing on Tuesday (September 19) that it’s rolling out a new tool that will enable creators to label AI-generated content that they upload to the social media platform.

TikTok also said it’s testing new automated tools to label content “that we detect was edited or created with AI.”

The new rules were developed in conjunction with TikTok’s various Safety Advisory Councils around the world, and settled on the term “AI generated” for its label, because that term is “widely understood… across different demographic groups globally.”

Additionally, TikTok says it will rename the filters it offers users for their video uploads, to make clear which ones make use of AI technology. Going forward, those filters will have “AI” in their name.

The social media site stirred some controversy earlier this year with a filter called “Bold Glamor” that makes video subjects look younger and more ‘attractive’ than they really are.

While some worried that the filter promoted unrealistic beauty standards, others criticized TikTok for not initially disclosing that the filter used AI technology.

TikTok’s announcement of AI labels for content follows its release of new community standards earlier this year, which drew the line between acceptable and unacceptable use of AI on content uploaded to the platform.

Under those rules, users are required to label any content that was created with or significantly edited by AI technology. The rules also ban certain types of AI-generated content, such as any video that uses the likeness (video or audio) of any real private figure, as well as content that has been manipulated “in a way that may mislead a person about real-world events.”

The policy does allow the use of AI-generated content featuring public figures, but not if it’s used for political or commercial endorsements, or if it violates any other TikTok content…