KELVIN CHAN, AP Business Writer
AI slop seems to be everywhere. Low-quality digital content created with artificial intelligence is flooding our feeds, screens, and speakers. Is there anything I can do?
If you want to reduce cartoon-style videos of deceased celebrities, creepy and absurd images, and fake bands playing synthetic songs, several platforms are rolling out settings and features to minimize AI-generated content.
Here is a guide on how to use them. But first, a warning from Henry Ajdar, who advises companies and governments on AI and has been researching deepfakes since 2018. He warned that it would be “incredibly difficult” to completely remove AI slop content from all feeds.
He likened the AI tilt to the smog caused by the industrial revolution, when no pollution regulations were in place.
“Using this analogy, it would be very difficult for people to avoid inhalation.”
Pinterest’s move to capitalize on the AI boom has become a poster child for the AI slop problem. Users complained that online moodboards for pinning inspirational material by theme were overflowing with AI content.
So Pinterest recently rolled out a Tuner that lets users adjust the amount of AI content they see in their feed.
It first rolled out on Android and desktop operating systems, and then began a more gradual rollout on iOS.
“Going forward, users will be able to tweak and humanize the AI,” Pinterest said, adding that it will initially cover some of the categories that are “prone to AI modification and generation,” such as beauty, art, fashion, and home decor.
More categories have since been added, including architecture, art, beauty, entertainment, fashion for men, women, and children, health, home decor, sports, food, and drink.
To use the tuner,[設定]Move to[おすすめを絞り込む]Move to. Then tap GenAI Interests. You can use the toggle to specify which categories you want to reduce AI content to.
TikTok
No wonder AI-generated videos are proliferating on short video sharing app TikTok. The company says it has at least 1.3 billion video clips labeled as AI-generated on its platform.
TikTok announced in November that it was testing an update that would give users more control over AI-generated content in their For You feed. It is unclear when it will be widely available. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
To check if your TikTok mobile app has this feature,[設定],[コンテンツ設定]Go to[トピックの管理]When you navigate to , you’ll see a set of sliders to control different types of content, including dance, humor, lifestyle, and nature.
You can also access the controls from your For You feed by clicking next to the post.[共有]Tap the button and[このビデオを選択する理由],[For You]Tap[トピックの管理]Tap.
There should be a new slider that allows you to dial down (or up) the amount of AI-generated content you receive. If you don’t see it yet, you may not have received the update yet. TikTok announced late last year that it would begin testing the feature in the coming weeks.
These controls are not available in the desktop browser interface.
AI content cannot be permanently removed. According to TikTok, the controls are used to adjust content rather than completely removing or replacing it from your feed.
“This means those who like AI-generated historical content can see more of this content, while those who don’t want to see as much can choose to see less of it,” the company said.
Deezer
Song generators like Suno and Udio allow users to create music by simply typing their ideas into a chatbot window. Anyone can use them to spew out polished pop songs, but that also means streaming services are flooded with AI songs, often by accounts impersonating real artists.
Among music streaming platforms, only Deezer, a smaller European-based player, offers listeners a way to differentiate by labeling songs as AI.
“Deezer has really, really pushed the musical narrative of the anti-AI generation,” Henry Ajdar said.
Deezer says 60,000 completely AI-generated tracks, or more than 39% of its daily total, are uploaded to its platform every day, and it detected and labeled more than 13.4 million AI tracks last year. The company says the people doing this are trying to make money through fraudulent streaming.
Change platform
If we can move away from Big Tech’s platforms, a new generation of apps will emerge targeting users who want to avoid AI.
Cara is a portfolio sharing platform for artists that prohibits AI-generated work. Pixelfed is an ad-free Instagram competitor that allows users to join different servers and communities. This includes servers for art that do not allow AI-generated content. Spread is a new social media platform with content for people who want to “access human ideas” and “escape the flood of AI.”
Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of diVine, a reboot of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s defunct short-form video app Vine. This app is only available as a limited pre-release for Apple iOS. It promises “no AI slop” and uses multiple approaches to detect AI. An Android beta app will be available soon. The company plans to release it on app stores soon, but needs more time to prepare for unexpectedly high demand.
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