Does AI Understand Arabic? Evaluating The Politics Behind the Algorithmic Arabic Content Moderation

Carr Center for Human Rights Policy research publications

17 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2024

See all articles by Mona Elswah

Mona Elswah

Harvard University - Carr Center for Human Rights Policy; University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Date Written: August 1, 2023

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to be integrated into various domains and industries. Over the years, social media companies have utilized AI technologies to moderate users’ content, personalize recommendations, and overall user experience optimization. While machine learning models have been found effective in identifying and addressing harmful and violent content, a mounting number of concerns were raised regarding the bias and discriminatory decisions made by these models when applied to non-English content. In this paper, I zoom in on the AI-powered content moderation by Meta’s Facebook in relation to managing Arabic content. I argue that the Arabic content is subject to “inconsistent moderation”, meaning that some content will over-moderated, while other content will be left untouched despite violating the platforms’ standards. These inconsistencies have limited users’ ability to engage in meaningful political debates in the region. Put simply, Arabic-speaking users are now uncertain whether their content will be deleted or kept by the algorithm. This type of unclear and unexpected moderation has led to a social distrust towards AI tools and applications among Arab Internet users.

Suggested Citation

Elswah, Mona, Does AI Understand Arabic? Evaluating The Politics Behind the Algorithmic Arabic Content Moderation (August 1, 2023). Carr Center for Human Rights Policy research publications, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4690351 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4690351

Mona Elswah (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Carr Center for Human Rights Policy ( email )

Littauer-G-11G
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford OX1 3PG Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

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