TikTok retracts AI video descriptions in US due to errors

TikTok has reversed an AI feature that inaccurately summarised some of its videos, including describing a celebrity as a fruit.

Recently, the company's 'AI overviews' started showing beneath videos to explain the content or add context.

Although this feature was introduced to a limited audience in the US and the Philippines, its inaccurate and odd AI-generated descriptions of TikTok videos - particularly those of celebrities like platform star Charli D'Amelio - have been widely circulated.

TikTok stated that the test summaries have been adjusted to suggest products similar to those displayed in videos.

Similar to the AI Overviews present above many Google search results, TikTok's AI-generated overviews aimed to summarise video content for users when they expanded the video’s caption.

Some screenshots shared by users and seen by the BBC presented fairly accurate video descriptions, but Business Insider noted numerous "wildly inaccurate" AI summaries.

This included one instance where a video featuring dancer Charli D'Amelio was labeled as a "collection of various blueberries with different toppings," the publication reported.

Other TikTok videos featuring celebrities and artists, such as Shakira and Olivia Rodrigo, also had equally vague and incorrect AI-generated summaries.

According to TikTok, the feature will now focus solely on providing information about items in the videos.

This development comes as tech companies strive to implement more AI features on their platforms for increasing user engagement. However, certain efforts have faced criticism or ridicule when these tools fail.

Initial reactions to TikTok's AI video summaries began surfacing in January.

Yet, these summaries appeared to become more accessible, with multiple users and creators pointing out the odd mistakes in late April.

A recent Reddit post highlighted how an AI summary of a ballroom dance performance by Reagan and Juli To was described on TikTok as "a person repeatedly striking their head with a rubber chicken."

Other TikTok user-submitted examples also showed peculiar descriptions.

For instance, AI overviews for two videos, which did not involve any violence or tools, claimed that they showed "a person repeatedly striking their head with a hammer."

TikTok mentioned that users can report and give feedback on AI overviews.

This, however, didn't stop some from guessing whether the platform was "playing a prank" on users.

"The new AI Overview is so inaccurate it seems like a practical joke," commented TikTok user and creator Brett Vanderbrook along with his video.

He showcased several instances where TikTok's AI offered strange descriptions like labeling a comedy skit as someone "demonstrating a new, clever technique for cutting through water."