Google Combats ISIS through Limiting Related Search Results

Google Combats ISIS through Limiting Related Search Results
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Google Combats ISIS through Limiting Related Search Results

Google Combats ISIS through Limiting Related Search Results

The spokesman for the global coalition to defeat ISIS announced that May witnessed a drop of 92 percent in Twitter links that take users to pro-ISIS websites.

He told al-Hurra television on Friday that the coalition had set up a hashtag on Twitter aimed at directing users to ways to inform officials of any pro-ISIS content.

The hashtag explains that users are capable of defeating ISIS through the click of a button. If a user sees any ISIS content, they should click on the associated hashtag icon and they will be presented with a guide on how to counter the content.

The same method can be applied to Facebook.

Last week, Google unveiled new technology aimed at decreasing the user access to terrorist videos posted on the internet. This technology was a result of efforts by social media giants Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which is owned by Google.

A YouTube spokesman explained that when people usually search for a specific video on YouTube, they write a keyword or a number of keywords into a search engine. What usually happens is that the desired video appears in the results. According to the new technology however, a short video about terrorism and terrorists appears in the results in order to warn the user against heading to a certain website or viewing a certain video.

He said that a redirect video appears when a user searches for terrorist or terror-linked videos.

This technology was used to combat racism on YouTube, he revealed. This same method could also be used in the war against terrorism.

In March, several major US companies withdrew their ads from YouTube in protest against it allowing racist, sexual and unethical videos from being posted on its platform. These companies included telecommunications giant Verizon and medical product heavyweight Johnson and Johnson.

The new technology was however criticized by free speech organizations. Executive Director of the Washington-based Center for Digital Democracy Jeff Chester said it was clear that ad companies are exploiting the war against violence, discrimination and terrorism to influence content on social media. This means that the credibility and neutrality of these sites is affected.

Google, on the other hand, considered that searching for principles of Islam could lead the user to sites connected to hate groups that promote violence instead of tolerance. The company therefore became meticulous in displaying results linked to Islam in order to prevent the promotion of wrong information about the religion. This will help limit misinterpretations of the religion, including its teachings on jihad and Sharia.

Several users, especially western ones, connect Islam to terrorist crimes, even though several Muslims in the West are often the victims of racist and hate crimes.

Google relied on mathematical algorithms to assess the search results and determine whether they are offensive to religion or not. If so, the search engine would prevent the display of the offensive websites in the search results. Users had in the past come across numerous websites that are filled with incorrect information on religion when using, for example, “jihad” and “Sharia” in keyword searches.

In addition, Google altered its autofill service, wherein in the past when a user typed in “does Islam…” in the search box, the autofill technology in the past would have completed the inquiry with “… permit terrorism?” The autofill result of “do Muslim women … need saving?” is also now a thing of the past with the new Google technology.

Google had adopted this same approach in combating discrimination against Christianity and Judaism.

Last week, YouTube implemented a new method of countering terrorism by redirecting users searching for violent and extremist content towards anti-ISIS videos. Aimed at targeting terrorist thought before its inception, instead of displaying ISIS videos, the user is shown a video of former ISIS members recounting the details of their ordeal when they were part of the terrorist group. They are also redirected to discussions by religious figures, speaking against extremist ideology.



Video Game Actors Are Voting on a New Contract. Here’s What It Means for AI in Gaming

A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)
A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)
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Video Game Actors Are Voting on a New Contract. Here’s What It Means for AI in Gaming

A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)
A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)

An 11-month strike by video game performers could formally end this week if members ratify a deal that delivers pay raises, control over their likenesses and artificial intelligence protections.

The agreement feels "like diamond amounts of pressure suddenly lifted," said Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor and chair of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists' interactive branch negotiating committee.

Union members have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific to vote on ratifying the tentative agreement.

Voice and body performers for video games raised concerns that unregulated use of AI could displace them and threaten their artistic autonomy.

"It’s obviously far from resolved," Elmaleh said. "But the idea that that we’re in a zone where we might have concluded this feels like a lightening and a relief."

AI concerns are especially dire in the video game industry, where human performers infuse characters with distinctive movements, shrieks, falls and plot-twisting dialogue.

"I hope and I believe that our members, when they look back on this, will say all of the sacrifices and difficulty we put ourselves through to achieve this agreement will ultimately be worth it because we do have the key elements that we need to feel confident and moving forward in this business," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator.

Here’s a look at the contract currently up for vote, and what it means for the future of the video game industry.

How did the current strike play out? Video game performers went on strike last July following nearly two years of failed negotiations with major game studios, as both sides remained split over generative AI regulations.

More than 160 games signed interim agreements accepting AI provisions SAG-AFTRA was seeking, the union said, which allowed some work to continue.

The video game industry is a massive global industry, generating an estimated $187 billion in 2024, according to game market forecaster Newzoo.

"OD," and "Physint" were two games delayed due to the strike during the filming and casting stage, video game developer Hideo Kojima wrote in December. Riot Games, a video game developer, announced that same month that some new skins in "League of Legends" would have to use existing voice-overs, since new content couldn't be recorded by striking actors. Skins are cosmetic items that can change the visual appearance of a player and is sometimes equipped with new voice-overs and unique recorded lines.

The proposed contract "builds on three decades of successful partnership between the interactive entertainment industry and the union" to deliver "historic wage increases" and "industry-leading AI provisions," wrote Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers involved in the deal.

"We look forward to continuing to work with performers to create new and engaging entertainment experiences for billions of players throughout the world," Cooling wrote.

Video game performers had previously gone on strike in October 2016, with a tentative deal reached 11 months later. That strike helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists. The agreement was ratified with 90% support, with 10% of members voting.

The proposed contract secures an increase in performer compensation of just over 15% upon ratification and an additional 3% increase each year of the three-year contract.

How would AI use change in video games? AI concerns have taken center stage as industries across various sectors attempt to keep up with the fast-evolving technology. It’s a fight that Hollywood writers and actors undertook during the historic film and TV strikes that forced the industry to a stop in 2023.

"In the last few years, it’s become obvious that we are at an inflection point where rules of the road have to be set for AI, and if they aren’t, the consequences are potentially very serious," Crabtree-Ireland said. "I think that really made this negotiation extra important for all of us."

SAG-AFTRA leaders have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Game voice actors and motion capture artists’ likenesses, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.

The proposed contract delineates clear restrictions on when and how video game companies can create digital replicas, which use AI to generate new performances that weren't recorded by an actor.

Employers must obtain written permission from a performer to create a digital replica — consent which must be granted during the performer’s lifetime and is valid after death unless otherwise limited, the contract states. The time spent creating a digital replica will be compensated as the same amount of work time it would have required for a new performance.

The agreement also requires the employer to provide the performer with a usage report that details how the replica was used and calculates the expected compensation.

Elmaleh, who has been voice acting since 2010 and had to turn down projects throughout the strike, said securing these gains required voice actors bring vulnerability and openness to the bargaining table.

"We talked a lot about the personal, the way it affects our displacement as workers and just the sustainability of our careers," Elmaleh said. "Our work involves your inner child. It’s being very vulnerable, it’s being playful."

What’s next for the video game industry? The tentative agreement centers on consent, compensation and transparency, which union leaders say are key elements needed for the industry to keep progressing.

As the contract is considered by union members, Elmaleh and Crabtree-Ireland said further work needs to be done to ensure the provisions are as broad as necessary.

"Even though there’s a deal that’s been made now, and we’ve locked in a lot of really crucial protections and guardrails, the things that we haven’t been able to achieve yet, we’re going to be continuing to fight for them," Crabtree-Ireland said. "Every time these contracts expire is our chance to improve upon them."

Elmaleh said she hopes both the video game companies and performers can soon work collaboratively to develop guidelines on AI as the technology evolves — a process she said should start well the proposed contract would expire in October 2028.

Leading negotiations has felt like a full-time job for Elmaleh, who took on the role in a volunteer capacity. As the efforts die down, she said she anxiously anticipates returning to video game acting in a landscape that is safer for performers.

Voice acting "is core to who I am. It’s why I fought so hard for this. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t love what I do so much. I think it’s so special and worthy of protection," she said.