TikTok Shifts to AI Moderation With Mass Layoffs

Social media giant TikTok made a major symbolic move today by canning hundreds of UK and Asian moderators as it attempts to integrate artificial intelligence into more processes throughout the company.

The Chinese tech giant said that workers displaced in the move will have priority in hiring if they meet unspecified criteria. The company did not disclose the exact number of people laid off from its 2,500 in the UK, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The BBC reports that the move was immediately met with criticism from unions and online safety advocates.

“[TikTok is] putting corporate greed over the safety of workers and the public,” John Chadfield, the national tech officer for the Communications Workers Union (CWU), told the BBC.

“TikTok workers have long been sounding the alarm over the real-world costs of cutting human moderation teams in favor of hastily developed, immature AI alternatives,” Chadfield told the WSJ.

TikTok says AI is already cutting unsafe content

The union also expressed concern to the BBC that the AI used may not be fully ready to handle moderation safely, making it potentially dangerous for vulnerable users.

TikTok pushed back on that sentiment in a statement, saying that it has been using “comprehensive” AI to advance a remit focused on the safety of users and human moderators.

“[TikTok] is continuing a reorganization that we started last year to strengthen our global operating model for Trust and Safety, which includes concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally,” it reads.

TikTok has spent several years studying and adopting AI throughout its core businesses, it said, adding that it will use those tools “maximize effectiveness and speed” when moderating its social media platform.

TikTok is already on regulators’ radar abroad

TikTok has already drawn scrutiny in the U.K. for its safety and compilation of users’ personal information. The federal Information Commissioner’s Office launched a probe in March into how the company uses the data of 13- to 17-year-olds.

The company also pointed to new regulation from the United Kingdom in its statement, laws which have increased potential fines for non-compliance with national safety standards up to 10%. TikTok says it now needs more AI to meet the new regulatory bar set by UK’s Online Safety Act, which debuted in July.

TikTok says its AI automatically removes about 85% of posts not in compliance. It did not provide evidence to confirm that claim.