What’s the news: “Social media companies need to invest adequate resources in human oversight of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven content moderation systems to ensure all users, including Palestinians, can equally exercise their rights online, regardless of language and political views. Several platforms have undermined their ability to do so by laying off the staff responsible for human rights compliance,” said Amnesty International in a press release asking platforms to step up their crisis response in face of growing online hate and censorship. With the humanitarian crisis worsening in the Occupied Gaza Strip, the human rights-focused organisation raised concerns about numerous social media posts glorifying Israel’s attacks on civilians in Gaza. Some posts supported the destruction of Gaza, advocated violence against Palestinians and used dehumanising and racist language against Palestinians. The organization also documented a number of antisemitic posts, many advocating hatred and violence against Jewish people. To effectively address this problem, Amnesty International asked social media companies to moderate content while ensuring human intervention in the exercise. Why it matters: Content moderation with a goal to curb hatred and protect people’s rights is one of the use-cases where unmonitored AI activity can cause more complications. The organisation also referred to research by New America that showed how AI systems often reproduce pre-existing societal biases under a veil of neutrality. The fact that Amnesty International brings up this issue following a season of heavy lay-offs is something that the companies need to take note of, especially if they want to create a…
