TikTok is replacing hundreds of human moderators in the U.K. and Asia with software. The staff whose roles are being eliminated will get priority in hiring "if they meet unspecified criteria." The move came as workers were about to vote to unionize, if you're speculating about what those specifications might involve.
a spokesperson for the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the decision was "putting corporate greed over the safety of workers and the public".
"TikTok workers have long been sounding the alarm over the real-world costs of cutting human moderation teams in favour of hastily developed, immature AI alternatives," CWU National Officer for Tech John Chadfield said.
He added the cuts had been announced "just as the company's workers are about to vote on having their union recognised".
The Australian bank that did something similar ultimately rehired the humans to do the thing its AI failed to do, but TikTok has an advantage over the Commonwealth Bank of Australia: it doesn't have to care if moderation goes to hell now that the heat is off in the U.S. It may also signal disinterest in the ongoing U.K. investigation into its user safety problems, though when you think about it switching to a regime of unaccountable, arbitrary AI content filtering might be quite appealing to British authorities.
Previously:
• Supreme Court upholds Tik Tok ban
• Right-wing weirdos eager to buy Tik Tok after House votes to force Chinese owners to sell it
• Support for banning Tik Tok evaporated in the summer heat (2024, but this is a perennial)
