Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Web
  3. News

SRI International wants machines to deal with cyberbullying so you don’t have to

By

sri international ai flags cyberbullying ask fm cyberbully
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Keeping your Facebook, Twitter, and social media feeds free of disturbing, graphic, or otherwise inappropriate content is grueling work. While the physical strain of sitting at a computer for hours on end is exhausting in and of itself, the mental and emotional toll that poring over pornography, cruelty, and general filth is overwhelming. These content managers make up perhaps 50 percent of the total workforce of social media platforms, and it’s important, yet sometimes devastating work. That’s why SRI International is hoping that machines can do it for them, and alleviate the stress and trauma that comes from much of such a job.

According to a new Wired report, SRI International, which first came to prominence for developing Siri, is now working on computer algorithms that can identify cyberbullying as it happens, and put a much quicker end to it than any human possibly could. Normal Winarsky, president of SRI Ventures, told Wired, “Social networks are overwhelmed with these kinds of problems, and human curators can’t manage the load.” But maybe technology can.

Recommended Videos

Given SRI’s extensive background in and knowledge of communication, the company seems like the perfect fit in teaching computers how to flag, stop, and perhaps even prevent bullying and other digital abuse. Already, their familiarity with language has allowed SRI to create algorithms capable of grading essays in standardized tests based on more than just grammar and checkpoints. And now, in addition to being taught what good writing looks like, the machines at SRI are also being fed nastier information about what forms cyberbullying may take.

Related

Bill Mark, president of SRI’s information and computing sciences group, told Wired, “Bullying is a difficult problem to solve because you have to understand context.” It’s not as simple as just flagging curse words and name calling — it’s also being able to recognize threats and other negative sentiments that humans can easily identify as cruel and abusive, but may not be as obvious to a computer.

According to Winarsky, at SRI’s current rate of development, an initial testing model could be ready in six months to a year, but a more sophisticated and robust system may take longer to perfect. After all, this AI would need to “understand the meaning behind language, parsing grammar and sentence models, and structure, in addition to machine learning and statistical approaches” in order to identify potential bullying scenarios.

Ultimately, the goal would be to lessen the burden currently borne by human content moderators, who sometimes leave work depressed, or worse. So while such a system wouldn’t solve the root of the issue — the bullying itself — perhaps it can lessen its effects.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
How to change margins in Google Docs
Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more
Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs
A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.

Read more