Last week at the MIT EmTech Digital conference in London, I participated in a panel focused on how business, government, and academia can collaborate to maximize opportunities and manage challenges associated with advanced AI products.
Alongside ElevenLabs, the panel included leaders from the Alan Turing Institute, the Ada Lovelace Institute, and BT, with MIT Technology Review’s Melissa Heikkilä moderating the discussion.
Provenance: involves distinguishing AI-generated content from real content by understanding its origins. Upstream AI detection tools, such as classifiers, are probabilistic models trained to recognize AI-generated outputs. At ElevenLabs, we’ve developed the AI Speech Classifier that lets anyone upload samples to check if they originate from our platform. We’re also collaborating with Loccus to enhance AI content classification capabilities. Classifiers, however, are not a panacea solution for provenance; they have their limitations. To address them, downstream AI detection methods have emerged, including metadata, watermarks, and fingerprinting solutions. We endorse industry-wide efforts such as cryptographically signed metadata standard C2PA, which present the benefit of being open and interoperable and could enable labeling of AI-generated content across main distribution channels like Instagram or Facebook.
Moderation: which involves defining clear policies on acceptable content and use, and preventing users from generating content that does not comply with such policies. At ElevenLabs, we use automated systems to scan, flag, and block inappropriate content. Human moderators review flagged content to ensure consistent policy enforcement. We are continually advancing our moderation technology to prevent the generation of content that could harm public trust or safety. Open source moderation endpoints, such as the one provided by OpenAI, enable easy integration of prompt moderation into any AI applications.
Working together towards a common goal
While we prioritize safe AI development, no company can tackle AI misuse alone. At the panel, we recognized the need for widespread collaboration among tech companies, governments, civil rights groups, and the public to confront social and environmental changes and ensure a secure digital future. At ElevenLabs, we’re dedicated to maintaining open dialogue in our community and supporting initiatives like the Content Authenticity Initiative and the Elections Safety Accord to combat misinformation.
