Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone now utilize ToxMod in North America. This is an artificial intelligence designed to ban toxic players. In Europe, the AI will first be implemented in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
How does the AI work? The AI-driven moderation technology is integrated into the voice chats of Call of Duty and is designed to recognize hate speech, discriminatory remarks, and harassment in real-time.
All of this is supposed to happen in 14 different languages, but the AI currently only works for the English language at launch. The ToxMod not only searches for individual words but can also analyze tone and intent.
Additionally, the AI can estimate the age of the participants in the conversation. Violations in the presence of children and adolescents, who should not be in Call of Duty due to the age rating, are supposed to be punished more severely. The AI’s experience comes from hours of listening, and it is also expected to evolve over time.
During gamescom, there was an exclusive look at the first mission from the upcoming Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3:
Meanwhile, ToxMod can even recognize when radicalizations occur in the voice chat. If a dangerous conviction, dissemination of an ideology, or planning of violent actions occurs, the AI intervenes.
If you’re now afraid that ToxMod might mistakenly ban you for misunderstood expressions or phrases, we can reassure you. The AI cannot directly ban you, but serves only as a reporting system.
After the AI detects something suspicious, the user is initially reported. ToxMod categorizes based on the type of behavior and severity. However, it cannot recognize the ethnic affiliation of individual languages, which is why a further step is taken after the report.
The excerpt from the voice chat is then forwarded to a real person. The Activision employee then checks whether it is a false report or if the player actually needs to be punished.
Activision then decides how to handle the violation. Toxic behavior can lead to warnings, temporary exclusions, or a permanent ban.
So far, the AI has only been used in smaller VR games like Rec Room, but with Call of Duty, the company has landed a larger gaming representative.
The voice chat is an important means in Call of Duty to communicate with team members. If it does not work for you anymore, MeinMMO could help you with an article: CoD Warzone 2: Voice chat not working – Here’s how you can fix it
