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Discord acquires a start-up that has developed AI-based software to detect and moderate online harassment and abuse.
There is little debate that the internet can be a toxic place, especially when large groups of people with potentially divergent beliefs or interests come together in one place. While Discord has proven to be a popular platform for people to come together and build generally healthy communities, it is also a space where a person is likely to experience sometimes unpleasant and even potentially dangerous encounters. with others.
On community forums like Reddit and Quora, a question that pops up frequently points to, “Why is Discord so incredibly toxic?” People can be harassed or attacked on Discord for any number of things, large or small, such as the sound of their voice, their ability or inability to play video games well, and different positions on social issues such as politics, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Discord has even been a gathering place for controversial communities like white supremacist groups.
The instant messaging and VoIP app, which makes it easier to build communities, has consistently fought the toxicity and harassment that inevitably appeared on the platform. In some groups, Discord is significantly more peaceful than it may have been just a few years ago, but the company is working to improve the situation even further and announced yesterday that it has acquired an AI company. called Sentropy, a startup whose goal is to follow and moderate. online harassment.
According to a statement released by Sentropy regarding the acquisition, the company’s goal is to improve the world both digitally and physically by addressing the ever-present challenge of hate and abuse online. Discord has grown steadily since its first appearance in 2015, expanding beyond a gamer communication platform to include other topics, and its goal is to empower people to make connections. in a secure and reliable manner.
The goal of the meeting between Sentropy and Discord will be to improve the trust and security capabilities of the discussion platform by improving user privacy and security while combating online abuse. The need for this has become even more evident as Discord’s monthly user base recently surpassed 150 million. In 2020 alone, the company deleted more than 160,000 accounts for non-consensual content, abusive and harassment. It’s not entirely clear how the acquisition of Sentropy will be experienced on the user side, or whether the company’s moderation and security tools will remain behind the scenes.
As Sentropy focuses on Discord, the company’s existing security products will be shut down, but Sentropy CEO and co-founder John Redgrave has assured customers the company will help them find alternatives to protect their communities. One of the benefits of Discord’s acquisition of Sentropy, according to Redgrave, is that working solutions will be shared with like-minded communities and won’t just benefit Discord.
Sources: medium, Kotaku
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