Machine learning to detect and block extremist material

Sharing without comment, except to note that there's an interesting Blade Runner-esque soundtrack for the first video.

The UK government has unveiled a tool it says can accurately detect jihadist content and block it from being viewed. Home Secretary Amber Rudd told the BBC she would not rule out forcing technology companies to use it by law. Ms Rudd is visiting the US to meet tech companies to discuss the idea, as well as other efforts to tackle extremism. Thousands of hours of content posted by the Islamic State group was run past the tool, in order to "train" it to automatically spot extremist material.

The government provided £600,000 of public funds towards the creation of the tool by an artificial intelligence company based in London. ASI Data Science said the software can be configured to detect 94% of IS video uploads. Anything the software identifies as potential IS material would be flagged up for a human decision to be taken.

The company said it typically flagged 0.005% of non-IS video uploads. On a site with five million daily uploads, it would flag 250 non-IS videos for review. It is intended to lighten the moderation burden faced by small companies that may not have the resources to effectively tackle extremist material being posted on their sites.

In Silicon Valley, the home secretary told the BBC the tool was made as a way to demonstrate that the government's demand for a clampdown on extremist activity was not unreasonable. "It's a very convincing example of the fact that you can have the information you need to make sure this material doesn't go online in the first place," she said. "The technology is there. There are tools out there that can do exactly what we're asking for. For smaller companies, this could be ideal."
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43037899