OpenAI · Google · Apple · BBC Technology
TikTok scales back AI-generated video descriptions after absurd errors
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TikTok has rowed back on an AI feature which incorrectly summarised some videos on the platform, including claiming a celebrity was fruit.
Key facts
- Google was widely mocked in 2024 after its AI Overviews results told users to eat rocks and "glue pizza
- Apple later faced criticism after an AI tool designed to summarise notifications created false headlines for the BBC News and the New York Times apps
- It saw similarly vague, inaccurate and strange AI-generated summaries on other TikTok videos of celebrities and artists, including Shakira and Olivia Rodrigo
- Some examples screenshotted by users and seen by the BBC showed videos on the platform being accurately described, but Business Insider also identified several "wildly inaccurate" AI overviews
Summary
The company's 'AI overviews' recently began appearing beneath content on the platform to describe what a video was showing, or provide more context. While only rolled out to some users in the US and the Philippines, the feature's incorrect and bizarre AI-generated summaries of TikTok content - seen beneath videos of celebrities like platform star Charli D'Amelio - have been shared widely. According to TikTok, its experimental summaries have been tweaked to only suggest products similar to those shown in videos. Much like the AI Overviews at the top of most Google search results, TikTok's AI-generated overviews would attempt to sum up the contents of videos for some users when they clicked to see more of a video's caption.