‘I’m about to refund MW3’: Call of Duty players demand AI moderation is removed
The integration of AI moderation in Call of Duty has been slammed, as a number of fans have come out of the woodwork to kick up a fuss.
06th Sep 2023 11:10
Images via Infinity Ward
‘I’m about to refund MW3’: Call of Duty players demand AI moderation is removed
The integration of AI moderation in Call of Duty has been slammed, as a number of fans have come out of the woodwork to kick up a fuss.
06th Sep 2023 11:10
Images via Infinity Ward
The Call of Duty franchise is pretty well known for doing two things when it comes to its community - bringing players together into dedicated squads, and inadvertently spreading hate effortlessly across the globe.
There's no doubt that the series is home to lobbies that are fuelled with gamer rage, and even the most modern lobbies can end up plagued with racial slurs and verbal abuse. It's a sad tether to the most unfortunate element of the "good old days." Call of Duty has a fix ready to go, but fans aren't happy about it.
Call of Duty is gearing up to launch AI chat mods
Introduced by Xbox, a new AI-based chat moderation system is gearing up to be deployed in Call of Duty to reduce the sheer sum of abuse and bigotry that is spouted in in-game chats on a regular basis.
"The new system attaches strikes to every enforcement, ranging in severity based on inappropriate activity," reads the announcement from Xbox. "Each player will now have a view of their enforcement history including strikes and the overall impact these have on their player record.
"This revised system gives players a better understanding of enforcement severity and the cumulative effect of multiple enforcements." The blog post goes on to detail that punishments will be based on a full "strike" system, which will prevent players from playing on the platform for a day after reaching two strikes.
Apparently, players have a total of eight strikes, and once reached they "will be suspended from Xbox's social features" for a whole year. Amidst worries about the use of AI in general, it's a pretty hefty block to enforce - and fans aren't happy.
Fans react to Xbox's AI chat mods
A thread has appeared on Reddit that expresses the sheer frustration of some players in response to the move, with a warning of "I'm about to refund MW3 over this because this is ridiculous." Many claim they simply aren't going to engage with the future of Call of Duty as a result.
Calling out Xbox, one critic grumbled, "I'm so against this because if that happens what are other platforms in the future going to do? I personally have a PC but imagine getting banned from most of your library because you called somebody dogs**t in CoD?"
Saying that Cod is rated M and children shouldn't be there, another added, "Online communications are not a part of the certification process or criteria. The game isn’t rated M on the basis that a 21-year-old who gets pissy at video games can start calling kids little sh*t eaters."
Others support the move, with another concluding, "Sorry you guys can't be toxic f**ks anymore," says another commenter. "It's more than projecting the kids and going 'lol you bad.' I get singled out on a consistent basis."
It's hard to tell if people getting defensive about the series are genuinely worried they'll be mistakenly flagged, or if they just want to keep spouting slurs in game chats so they can feel tough. Either way, it looks like change is coming.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
