While the NSFW AI was really great at identifying explicit content, the understanding of sarcasm is still one of those big challenges facing the technology. Sarcasm, by its very nature, is subtle and usually depends on context, tone, and even cultural references to denote the opposite of what is explicitly said. Current AI systems, including those applied to the detection of NSFW content, are highly based on literal meanings and pattern recognition; hence, they confuse these sarcastic comments. According to a report from Statista this year, 2022, the rates of detection for sarcasm in AI systems usually go up to 70%, which leaves a big margin for error.
This can be explained by the complexity of the NLP. It mostly contains contradiction, humor, or exaggerated expressions that are really difficult to be found by AI without societal context. This is further pointed out by comments like “Oh, great, another algorithm that totally works!” being classified as positive when actually it is a sarcastic comment criticizing an AI system. For example, Forbes in 2021 reported the following of AI: “[AI] trips over such nuance, triggering false alarms or mooting the comment altogether.”.
While it processes information in less than two seconds, hence very efficient in screening large amounts of content, the same speed lends little to tone or intent. And though that speed works when explicit content is going to be flagged, it does not help when the subject matter may be sarcastic, requiring a deeper understanding of context, in which current AI models are not good. Even with extensive use of the latest machine learning methodologies, sarcasm detection is one area where AI obviously requires immense upgrading.
Some use deep learning models that bake in sentiment analysis and contextual understanding; that could improve the detection of sarcasm. However, even the most sophisticated models, according to a 2022 report by Forbes, fall short because of the highly subjective and culturally variable nature of sarcasm, making it tough to train ai to catch every instance accurately. This is even worse when operating in multilingual or cross-cultural contexts because such inflection that denotes sarcasm could vary with the language or region.
Another limitation in the current nsfw AI for the detection of sarcasm is that, in general, it relies on keyword detection. Comments meant as a sarcastic remark use words or phrases which, if taken literally, would express either positive or negative sentiment, but the AI lacks the human-like ability to recognize when those words are used ironically. Saying, “This is just what I needed today,” upon something frustrating, might be picked up by AI as the opposite of the actual sentiment-that of gratitude.
To understand sarcasm completely, more advanced contextual awareness would be needed from AI, including the tone, history of the user, and social hints-none of which is fully realized in the current incarnations of NSFW AI. Therefore, rather often, human moderation remains the needed way to identify sarcastic content.
For more detailed information on how the NSFW AI works, refer to nsfw.ai.