AI safety theatre, Shopify’s policy dodge, and the reality of moderation work
Hello and welcome to Everything in Moderation's Week in Review, your need-to-know news and analysis about platform policy, content moderation and internet regulation. It's written by me, Ben Whitelaw and supported by members like you.
This week, global leaders and thinkers gathered in Paris for what one EiM reader called "a very French summit" to talk AI governance. Safety, perhaps unsurprisingly with recent events, was not a major topic but there was several notable announcements that suggests there are people — and US-based platforms — with a shared perspective on what a safe internet looks like. More on those below.
Welcome to new EiM subscribers from The Fire, INETCO, KU Leuven, the Conscious Ad Network, Google, Duck Duck Go, Character.ai and elsewhere. If someone shared today's newsletter with you, sign up to get Week in Review in your inbox every Friday and T&S Insider by Alice Hunsberger every Monday.
Let's get into this week's stories — BW
Today's edition is in partnership with Checkstep, the all-in-one Trust & Safety Platform
Generative AI is transforming how content is created and shared, but it’s also creating new challenges for Trust & Safety. From deepfakes to misinformation and scams, the risks are evolving faster than ever.
We understand how overwhelming it can be to navigate these emerging threats while keeping your platform safe. That’s why we partnered with GenAI experts at Sightengine to create the GenAI Moderation Guide, a unified resource to help you tackle these challenges head-on.e
In the guide, you’ll find:
- A step-by-step approach to mapping and prioritising generative AI risks,
- Practical advice on crafting AI-resilient policies tailored to your platform’s needs,
- Real-world insights and templates to help you stay ahead of emerging threats.
Policies
New and emerging internet policy and online speech regulation
All eyes this week were on the AI Action Summit in Paris, where 1000+ tech and politics bods spent two days discussing how to balance AI innovation and security. Unlike previous summits over the last few years, and according to EiM readers that were there, safety was a much smaller part of the conversation. This is reflected commentary I’ve read this week:
- Analysis from Mark Scott over at DFRLab gets to the heart of the issue: governments are simplifying their approach to AI regulation as part of a shift towards competition and economic growth.
- A statement from Anthropic founder Dario Amodei (EiM #223), who was present in Paris, called for democratic societies to lead the development of AI and flagged the risk of biological and chemical warfare.
- Unlike the London and Korean editions, the US and the UK refused to sign the end-of-summit communique that called for AI to be developed as “safe, secure and trustworthy”.
Sounds like a fun networking event more than a turning point for AI governance. Drop me a line if you were there and have thoughts.