With billions of people scattered across the globe fervently engaging platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to keep in touch with their social circles, express their thoughts and experiences, and interact with brands and businesses, it is obvious that social media is still standing strong. As the volume of content on social media proliferates at a breakneck pace, the pressing challenge for these platforms is to devise means of rendering the content more pertinent and advantageous for users, while simultaneously ensuring its appropriateness and safety. It is here that artificial intelligence (AI) comes into the fray, as social media companies are increasingly employing AI to enhance user experience and efficiently manage content.
Content moderation and AI
One area where AI is wielding a significant impact on social media is in the realm of content moderation. As the quantity of user-generated content on social media expands incessantly, so does the difficulty of moderating that content to ensure that it conforms to community guidelines and is appropriate for all users. In the past, this onerous task was accomplished primarily through manual review, with human moderators sifting through posts and comments to pinpoint and expunge any content that transgresses the platform’s policies.
However, with the sheer volume of content that is being churned out every passing moment, it is becoming progressively difficult for human moderators to keep up with the pace. Enter AI, as platforms are leveraging machine learning algorithms to scrutinize content and highlight potentially problematic posts and comments for human review. For instance, Facebook’s AI tools can discern content that breaches the platform’s policies on hate speech, while Twitter employs AI to identify and eradicate spam and abusive content.
Personalisation is easier with AI
AI is also being employed to personalise and augment the user experience on social media by examining user behavior and preferences, and recommending content that is tailored to their interests. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are utilizing machine learning algorithms to furnish personalised feeds of content, suggest new accounts to follow, and recommend posts to engage with, all based on a user’s preferences and habits.
Verification of information is crucial
Another instance where AI is being utilised to amplify the user experience on social media is in the identification and prevention of misinformation. With the upsurge of fake news and misinformation on social media, platforms are under mounting pressure to identify and expunge such content before it proliferates. AI comes in handy in such situations, as platforms are employing machine learning algorithms to scrutinise content and identify potentially misleading or false information.
For example, Facebook is uutilising AI to detect and eliminate spurious news stories and conspiracy theories, while Twitter is using machine learning algorithms to ferret out and flag misleading content related to COVID-19. Such measures can help prevent the spread of false information and guarantee that users have access to trustworthy and veracious information on social media.
Final thoughts
In conclusion, social media is undergoing a sea change as it adapts to AI in numerous ways, ranging from augmenting content moderation and personalisation to preventing the proliferation of misinformation and enhancing accessibility for users with disabilities. While there are still stumbling blocks to be overcome, such as ensuring that AI is utilized ethically and transparently, it is manifest that AI has the potential to revolutionise the way we use and interact with social media in the forthcoming years.
Sharon Callix
Multi-Award Winning Social Media Expert
International Speaker
Platinum Blogger
www.makingmoneyusingsocialmedia.com
