I really like online conversations, like the ones that take place on Okayplayer because they are civil. There are times I want to jump in on discussions on other social media platforms but don't because the commentors just seem to be vile or petty or crass. Anything that cuts down on cyberbullying or harassment is alright by me.

The free speech concerns are valid to a degree. Ideas shouldn't be censored and what is hurtful to one group is acceptable in another. But there are so many pockets of the Internet where trolling is out of control and if there is no means of policing speech by humans, than an algorithm is the next best thing. Algorithms are only as good as those programming them, but I can't see that this new technology could be worse than the current methods of policing online content.

Over time, this technology will likely become more effective at determining fair and decent comments from crude or hurtful or hateful speech.