All In Moderation 🚫🤖

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the increasing use of AI moderation on social media. Some have called out inherent biases after having content taken down and accounts banned, whereas others see the lack of transparency as the biggest issue. We also have news on Epic Games making a big bet on AI, the rise and fall of Character.AI, Mark Zuckerberg’s struggles with Guinness, and more!

🎬 Our Top Take

👙🤖 Meta – Users Accuse AI Moderators of Bias After Account Closures

Let’s parse out for a moment how an AI moderator “sees” an image. Without going into too much detail, we know it doesn’t see with the context of a human. For example, it might see an image of a plus-size model in lingerie, technically showing more skin than an image of a smaller model in the same clothing. It flags the former as sexual content because it ‘sees’ more skin, and labels the other as fine. We didn’t pull that example out of thin air; it is exactly what Instagram has been accused of doing by Cantiq, a plus-size, gender-inclusive lingerie brand, whose 100,000-follower account was banned with little explanation. Meta isn’t alone in using AI moderation – YouTubers have been having an existential crisis over it – but it may be the most consequential, given its role as a marketing and business hub for so many. We’ve been impacted by it ourselves: A video Paul recorded for Shift was taken down this week for no apparent reason, with the message from Facebook saying something opaque about “our technology” and “terms of service”. The video is back up now, so no damage done. Yet, the bigger issue is not AI moderation in itself, but the lack of options to escalate to a human for a review. Meta, X, YouTube and the rest: We get that AI moderation makes sense – it is logical to have it in place – but a simple system needs to be in place to give users a lifeline when AI makes mistakes, as it inevitably will. #EverythingInModeration Read more here. 

📲 App of the Week: Hairu

Fancy a hair change, but don’t know how far to take it? Hairu is an innovative app that lets you “try on” a haircut. It’s quite simple: Upload a selfie and then start trying on different styles. That might seem little different from messing about with Photoshop, but what sets Hairu apart is its AI recommendation engine, which can analyze your face and advise you on good fits for your next salon appointment. If you fancy going blonde, a bit of frizz, or an 80s-style mullet (go on, do it), then this app will help you test the water. Note: there are numerous subscription options, though we imagine only salon owners would need the weekly “Pro” version. If you’re just looking for a one-and-done, you can use the app for free or pay a few bucks for a professional style check. It’s on iOS here and Android here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 12 Seconds

📈📉 Ireland – Video of Mark Zuckerberg’s Guinness Tasting Goes Viral 
Not the most earth-shattering news here, nor really a stat, but we couldn’t resist its inclusion, as we all had a chuckle at a 12-second video of Mark Zuckerberg struggling with a pint of Guinness. Zuckerberg, if you weren’t aware, has bought a castle in Ireland, so he’s been mixing it up with the locals and sampling some of the black stuff. Judging by his reaction, Guinness is not for everyone. By the way, we cover this kind of light-hearted Irish content in our weekly newsletter – The Craic – sent out on behalf of Shift. If you’re interested in Irish news, views and a wee bit of silliness, you can get the free email every week here. #ZuckVsPint Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

The Apple App Store is now receiving submissions from developers for new apps designed to work on the foldable screen of the iPhone Duo. We are excited to see what app creators come up with. And if any of you have an idea for an app for a foldable phone (or a non-foldable one, for that matter), why not drop us a line? Even if it’s a rough idea or basic concept, we can take you through some of the steps to help make it a reality.