Facebook Studying The Use Of AI To Filter “Offensive Material” From Occupying News Feed Space

News about the proliferation and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been exploding lately. Suffice to say, the program is getting smarter, thanks to the help of its human counterparts. Gone is the dogma that they are going to replace us in major fields, or that fictitious fear about SkyNet; AI is here to help us make our lives better.

From digital butlers like Siri and Cortana to systems that could someday predict the future and making their own algorithm, there's no denying that artificial intelligence was created for a purpose. Although researchers and scientists haven't really tapped its full potential, companies like Facebook are utilizing what they can.

Recently, the social media platform came up with a video explaining their AI initiative as an enforcer to block "video streams for nudity, violence" and other unwanted content that violates their policies. In Engadget's report, Facebook Applied Machine Learning Director Joaquin Candela said that artificial intelligence "is a rigorous science" that, with human intervention, can design intelligent systems and machines. What Facebook is planning is to use AI to frontline their efforts to make their platform free from "offensive material", rather than waiting for a user to report atrocities at a later time.

Cracking the AI code is an extensive and technical process to lay down on the table. Some may not see the entire picture as a positive signal to start a radical breakthrough, but AI Research Director of Facebook Yann LeCun assures that AI "is not the Terminator", but its study and eventual use isn't magic either. Somehow, AI will "affect our lives", but it is also important that people will have an idea on how AI "works and what it can do", he added.

As for Facebook, they have been recently criticized for the spread of fake news in the advent of the recent Presidential elections in the US. Its algorithm wasn't able to flag sensitive content, and some people thought that it was instrumental for the win of Republican candidate Donald Trump.