Google is using artificial intelligence software to remove misleading and objectionable videos from YouTube’s homepage and the app’s home screen. The software reportedly is able to analyze massive amounts of video footage, pick out the offending clips and blocks them — all without human assistance. Sources state the software, whose internal name is “trashy video classifier,” was first tested in 2015 but was widely deployed in 2017 after a series of inappropriate videos aimed at children were posted to the popular video-sharing platform. Continue reading Google Uses AI Classifier to Sanitize YouTube Home Page

Twitter has been investing in monitoring, removing offensive and inappropriate content and debuting tweaks, a job started by former chief financial officer Anthony Noto. The company is also rolling out an automated tool that will be on the lookout for “troll-like” behavior. This attention to the concerns of marketers has paid off, as Twitter just posted its second profitable quarter as a public company. But chief financial officer Ned Segal believes there is more to do to make the platform more stable and successful. Continue reading Twitter Grows its Daily Users, Debuts Automated Anti-Troll Tool

Since YouTube debuted YouTube Kids three years ago, parents have complained about their ability to control the content. Now, the company is adding three features to respond to those concerns. A white-list feature parents requested allows them to handpick the content for their children. The company also introduced pre-screened content with partners, including, initially, Sesame Workshop and PBS Kids. Third is an option to set search settings to only permit channels “verified by the YouTube Kids team.” Continue reading YouTube Launches Parental Control Features for Kids Service

Google reports that AI-powered machines, not humans, detected about 80 percent of the 8.28 million videos taken off of YouTube in Q4 2017. This revelation underscores the importance of AI-enabled computers in removing unwanted content — and just how aggressively YouTube is pursuing their removal. At Stanford University’s Global Digital Policy Incubator, executive director Eileen Donahoe noted that balancing free speech with the removal of undesirable videos will be YouTube’s major challenge going forward. Continue reading YouTube, Facebook Use AI Tools to Curb Unwanted Content

As YouTube weathers criticism from advertisers about placing their messages with objectionable videos, the company has made a major policy shift. Now, video channels must have more than 10,000 total views before YouTube will place ads there. Though the move may placate some marketers, it is also likely to ruffle the feathers of many creators, given that Internet data firm Pex estimates that 88 percent of all YouTube channels fall into the category of under-10,000 views. YouTube has been working on the policy since November. Continue reading YouTube Reserves Advertising to Channels with 10,000 Views