Content Moderation, Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Scale

With the rise of online communication, negativity has quickly taken over social interactions. Social media and online communities have been plagued with fake accounts, trolls, and inappropriate behavior to the point that people are starting to leave. It is important for platforms to understand the safety needs of their members, especially when it comes to being a part of an accepting, positive community. One of the ways that social platforms can begin to mediate this damage is through content moderation. Content moderation has quickly become a necessity on many platforms to change a very bleak narrative. 

Content moderation via Artificial Intelligence:

As we are constantly surrounded by technology, it makes sense that we would rely on technology to also regulate and make social communities a safer space. Content moderation is one of the ways that we can create these uplifting and supportive communities. 
The technology of AI has stepped in as a viable solution to battle the growing negativity and the increasing challenges faced by content moderators ranging from the immense scale of data, violations of community guidelines to the dire need for human judgments involving emotions without wanting humans to be present to do so. The push for automated moderation usually arises from the humongous amount of data on social media and networking platforms.

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The need for automated content screening:

With the sheer volume of content on social media as well as the sometimes contentious back and forth, there is need for an automated and efficient strategy to moderate content that does not involve any type of bias or room for error. 
The harmful effects of online negativity and negative conversations extend beyond the platform as well. In modern times, when members are connected on the basis of algorithms and statistics instead of through organic connections, content moderation via automation is indeed important. It is all the more critical for online platforms that aim to ensure the quality of the interactions in their community are positive and fruitful and to maintain a safe and secure space for their members. 

Benefits of using AI as a content moderator:

Not only will the adaption of Artificial Intelligence as moderator quicken and make the process of content moderation more efficient, but it will also make it more thorough. It helps in monitoring the data in an accurate, fast, and sensitive manner. This collaboration between social platforms, content moderation, and Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming self-sufficient. It is anticipated that we will soon reach a stage where AI solutions will boost the growth of the platforms and will be the ideal solution for moderating the immense scale of data.

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AI converts the bulk data into simple calculus and then acts accordingly as trained and moderates the content. It detects the texts, usernames, images, videos, and identifies any content that promotes negative emotions of hatred, violence, cyberbullying, fake news, or is even explicit. The advanced technology then deletes such data from the community that does not comply with the platform's guidelines and framework. 

Social media platforms need to adopt a holistic approach to cater to the issue of content moderation wherein both human-centric moderation and technology work collaboratively and monitor content with the right balance of rationality and humanness with a common vision- to ensure the platform is positive, safe, and secure for the members and that helps foster genuine connections so that members can engage in meaningful conversations freely, openly and safely. (Article on behalf of Mr. Marc Kaplan, Founder & CEO, ChekMarc).