Activision is turning to AI to make your Call of Duty matches a bit less toxic

Not a fan? Disable in-game voice chat, says Activision.

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A new voice moderation tool, powered by AI, has been added to Call of Duty to protect players from “toxic or disruptive behaviour they may encounter.” This tool is said to help increase Activision’s ability to “identify and enforce against bad behaviour that has gone unreported.”

The initial rollout of the voice chat moderation tool will begin in North America for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Warzone from today. It’ll be rolled out globally (excluding Asia) on November 10 when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 arrives.

In case you’re concerned about flaming your friends during a round of Warzone and being subsequently punished as a result, the developer has shared that the tool does allow for “trash-talk and friendly banter.” However, as is to be expected, hate speech, sexism, and other types of discrimination will not be tolerated.

And if you don’t like the tool? Well, the developer suggests that those who do not wish to have their voice chat moderated should simply “disable in-game voice chat in the settings menu.” Problem solved. It has also specified that ToxMod’s job is just to moderate voice chat; the tool will not be dishing out punishment to problematic players.

“Call of Duty’s Voice Chat Moderation system only submits reports about toxic behavior, categorized by its type of behavior and a rated level of severity based on an evolving model. Activision determines how it will enforce voice chat moderation violations.”

Even then, Modulate states that ToxMod “was born to understand all the nuance of voice. It goes beyond transcription to consider emotion, speech acts, listener responses, and much more.” If true, you can expect to see less toxicity in your Call of Duty games, hopefully.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be hosting two open beta weekends during October . Will you be playing?

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