In today’s digital age, billions of pieces of content are uploaded to online platforms and websites each day.

Moderating this material has, therefore, never been more critical or challenging. While most of this uploaded content may be positive, we are also seeing a growing volume of harmful and illegal materials – from violence and self-harm to extremist rhetoric, sexually explicit imagery and child sex abuse material (CSAM).

Tackling this deluge of harmful content is now a defining challenge for businesses, with those unable (or unwilling) to do so opening themselves up to significant penalties and putting children at severe risk.

Our own research has revealed that over a third (38%) of parents have been approached by their kids after seeing harmful or illegal content, with many accessing materials as graphic and harmful as CSAM within just ten minutes of going online.

Therefore, the time has come for stronger content moderation measures and businesses looking beyond traditional manual moderation methods, which have become impractical and unscalable. Instead, they should leverage the complementary capabilities of AI that are transforming the landscape of content moderation through automation, enhanced accuracy, and scalability.

However, as with any new innovation, companies interested in using AI should ensure they implement the technology in a way which ensures regulatory compliance. The decisions companies make today will massively impact their future operations.

The helping hand of AI

AI has drastically transformed the content moderation landscape by using automated scanning of images, pre-recorded videos, live streams, and other types of content in an instant. It can identify issues such as underage activity in adult entertainment, nudity, sexual activity, extreme violence, self-harm, and hate symbols within user-generated content platforms, including social media.

AI is trained on large volumes of “ground truth data”, collecting and analysing insights from archives of tagged images and videos ranging from weapons to explicit content. The accuracy and efficacy of AI systems directly correlate to the quality and quantity of this data. Once trained, AI can effectively detect various forms of harmful content. This is especially important during live streaming scenarios, where content moderation needs to be viable across diverse platforms with varying legal and community standards.

While an automated approach not only accelerates the moderation process, but also provides scalability – a vital feature in an era where solely human moderation wouldn’t be possible with the sheer volume of online content.

A synergy of AI and humans

AI automation brings significant benefits, allowing organisations to moderate at scale and reduce costs by eliminating the need for a large team of moderators. However, even the most advanced technology requires human judgement to accompany it, and AI is far from being perfect on its own. Specific nuances and contextual cues can confuse systems and generate inaccurate outcomes. For instance, AI might be unable to differentiate between a kitchen knife used in a cooking video and a weapon used in an act of violence or confuse a toy gun in a children’s commercial with an actual firearm.

Therefore, when AI flags content as potentially harmful or in violation of guidelines, human moderators can step in to review and make the final call. This hybrid approach ensures that, while AI extends the scope of content moderation and streamlines the process, humans retain the ultimate authority, especially in complex cases.

Over the coming years, the sophistication of AI identification and verification techniques will continue to increase. This includes improving the accuracy of matching individuals featured in various types of content with their identity documents—a next step in ensuring consent and mitigating unauthorised content distribution.

Thanks to its learning capabilities, AI will constantly improve its accuracy and efficiency, with the potential to reduce the need for human intervention as it continues to evolve. However, the human element will continue to be necessary, especially in appeals and dispute resolutions related to content moderation decisions. Not only do current AI technologies lack the nuanced perspective and understanding, humans can also serve as a check against potential algorithmic biases or errors.

The global AI regulation landscape

As AI continues to expand and evolve, many businesses will be turning to regulatory bodies to outline their plans to govern AI applications. The European Union is at the forefront of this legislation, with its Artificial Intelligence Act coming into force in August 2024. Positioned as a pathfinder in the regulatory field, the act categorises AI systems into three types: those posing an unacceptable risk, those deemed high-risk, and a third category with minimal regulations.

As a result, an AI office has been established to oversee the implementation of the Act, consisting of five units: regulation and compliance; safety; AI innovation and policy coordination; robotics and AI for societal good; and excellence in AI. The office will also oversee the deadlines for certain businesses to comply with the new regulations, ranging between six months for prohibited AI systems to 36 months for high-risk AI systems.

Businesses in the EU are, therefore, advised to watch the legislative developments closely to gauge the impact on their operations and ensure their AI systems are compliant within the set deadlines. It’s also crucial for businesses outside of the EU to stay informed on how such regulations might affect their activities, as the legislation is expected to inform policies not just within the EU but potentially in the UK, the US and other regions. UK and US-based AI regulations will follow suit, so businesses must ensure they have the finger on the pulse and that any tools they implement now are likely to meet the compliance guidelines rolled out by these countries in the future.

A collaborative approach to a safer Internet

That being said, the successful implementation of AI in content moderation will also require a strong commitment to continuous improvement. Tools are likely to be developed ahead of any regulations going into effect. It is, therefore, important that businesses proactively audit them to avoid potential biases, ensure fairness, and protect user privacy. Organisations must also invest in ongoing training for human moderators to effectively handle the nuanced cases flagged by AI for review.

At the same time, with the psychologically taxing nature of content moderation work, solution providers must prioritise the mental health of their human moderators, offering robust psychological support, wellness resources, and strategies to limit prolonged exposure to disturbing content.

By adopting a proactive and responsible approach to AI-powered content moderation, online platforms can cultivate a digital environment that promotes creativity, connection, and constructive dialogue while protecting users from harm.

Ultimately, AI-powered content moderation solutions offer organisations a comprehensive toolkit to tackle challenges in the digital age. With real-time monitoring and filtering of massive volumes of user-generated content, this cutting-edge technology helps platforms maintain a safe and compliant online environment and allows them to scale their moderation efforts efficiently.

When turning to AI, however, organisations should keep a vigilant eye on key documents, launch timings and the implications of upcoming legislation.

If implemented effectively, AI can act as the perfect partner for humans, creating a content moderation solution that keeps kids protected when they access the internet and acts as the cornerstone for creating a safe online ecosystem.

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AI, a helping hand for businesses when moderating content