Twitch now has tools to clean up chat without the need of a human moderator. The streaming service is known for toxic behaviour in its chat sidebar, and this tool will give content creators the option to keep their streams tidy without having to keep a constant eye on an endless stream of Kappas.
With AutoMod, you could probably even chat about our list of the best sex games without suffering inappropriate comments.
The automated program will use special algorithms in an attempt to understand intent of a message, using machine learning to evolve – like Siri and Google – and getting better and better at blocking hateful or toxic comments.
“Inclusivity is something that is important to both our community and our brand,” Twitch inclusivity boss Anna Prosser Robinson said in a statement about the tool. “One of the best ways we can help bring about change is to provide tools and education that empower all types of voices to be heard.
“AutoMod is one of those tools, and we hope it will encourage our users to join us in our continued focus on fostering a positive environment on social media.”
It might not be perfect off-the-bat, so no doubt many people won’t be happy at its launch, but AutoMod should eventually make the platform a nicer place to be, for creators and observers.
It’s available now in English, and there’s abeta available now for Arabic, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish languages.
As VentureBeat point out, Twitch is such a massive business now that you have no hope of moderating the content with just human moderators. AutoMod is therefore the most cost effective way of dealing with the issue.
“We equip streamers with a robust set of tools and allow them to appoint trusted moderators straight from their communities to protect the integrity of their channels,” Twitch moderation lead Ryan Kennedy explained.
“This allows creators to focus more on producing great content and managing their communities. By combining the power of humans and machine learning, AutoMod takes that a step further. For the first time ever, we’re empowering all of our creators to establish a reliable baseline for acceptable language and around the clock chat moderation.”
Thanks, VB.