LinkedIn Targets Artificial Content With New Reporting Tool for 'AI Slop'
LinkedIn has introduced a dedicated reporting button to help users identify and flag low-quality, machine-generated content. Broad platform changes include new automated defenses and a shift away from AI-powered post enhancement features.
Key takeaways
- LinkedIn users can now report low-quality machine-generated posts using a new 'Seems like AI slop' button.
- The platform is replacing its AI post-enhancement tool with a proofreading feature that maintains human voice.
- Automated systems at LinkedIn currently block hundreds of thousands of bot-driven comment attempts every day.
- Platform data confirms that bots now account for more internet traffic than human users, according to Cloudflare.
Platform Shift: Users Gain Control Over Feed Authenticity
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is confronting the proliferation of low-quality, automated content by introducing a "Seems like AI slop" reporting button. This feature allows members to flag posts that appear to lack human authenticity, providing a data signal for the platform's internal detection systems. Chief Product Officer Hari Srinivasan stated that the company is prioritizing the removal of such content to preserve a space where users can connect with real expertise and perspectives.
Tactical Changes to Content Moderation
The new reporting mechanism is part of a multi-pronged strategy to sanitize the professional network's feed. LinkedIn is implementing several technical and policy-driven measures:
- Automated Defenses: The platform currently blocks hundreds of thousands of automated comment attempts daily and has thwarted millions of automation attempts over the last two months.
- Classifier Training: New internal classifiers will use the feedback from the reporting button to filter out low-quality content from discovery feeds and recommendations.
- Transparency Dashboards: Users will receive private notifications if their content is flagged as inauthentic, a move intended to help posters distinguish between using AI for refinement and producing full-scale "slop."
- Feature Reversals: LinkedIn is removing its "enhance your post" AI writing tool. It is being replaced by a proofreading feature designed to preserve the author's original voice rather than rewriting it.
The Broad Industry Fight Against Information Degradation
LinkedIn’s initiative reflects a wider industry trend as digital spaces struggle with bot activity. Cloudflare recently reported that bot traffic now exceeds human-generated requests across the internet, a transition occurring sooner than anticipated. Other entities are also pivoting; the newsletter platform Substack recently partnered with Pangram to help readers identify AI-penned text, while Pangram itself secured $9 million in funding to combat digital content flooding.
Failure to manage these automated surges can be fatal for platforms. In March, Digg shuttered its Reddit competitor after failing to control relentless bot traffic. In response to these challenges, LinkedIn is also expanding access to verification tools for profiles and pages to ensure that professional identities remain verified and trustworthy.
Source: Tech Crunch
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