22Instagram: Using Artificial Intelligence To Tackle Online Bullying
Instagram has only been around since 2010 but already there's a generation that probably can't imagine life without it.
The Facebook-owned social network, which focuses on image and video sharing, has 1 billion active users as of June 2018,1 posting 95 million pictures every day.2
Recognizing that bullying, harassment and abuse are unfortunately frequent occurrences online, Instagram has announced that it is rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) to stop unpleasant behavior in its tracks before it affects people's lives.
What Problems Is Artificial Intelligence Helping To Solve?
Behind all those sun-kissed holiday selfies and stunning scenery, there's a darker aspect to social image sharing.
UK charity Ditch The Label's annual bullying survey found that 42% of young people had experience of being cyberbullied on Instagram3 – the highest figure for any social platform.
In its report Cyberbullying's Impact on Young People's Mental Health, the Children's Society found early in 2018 that “the steps being taken by social media companies in response to cyberbullying are inadequate and inconsistent”.4
Like real bullying, cyberbullying can have a deep and lasting impact on its victims’ lives, in extreme cases leading to mental health issues and suicide.
By taking responsibility for keeping their users safe from bullying and harassment, social media companies have to walk a tightrope between restricting freedom ...
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