London, United Kingdom (Enmaeya News) — TikTok is expanding its use of artificial intelligence to monitor content and detect harmful material, a move that threatens the jobs of human content moderators, according to The Times.

An email sent to content moderation and quality assurance teams at TikTok’s London office confirmed that the company has suspended these teams in London. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, plans to cut hundreds of jobs in the U.K. and Southeast Asia.

The company cited advances in AI and deep language models as justification and may rely on external partners to manage content and quality control. TikTok said the move will not affect efforts to increase jobs in the United States or maintain user safety, as security roles will remain in the U.K.

A TikTok spokesperson said AI allows the platform to remove content before it is posted and review large volumes of content in a short time. The spokesperson noted this step continues efforts started last year to enhance platform security and content oversight.

Experts warn that replacing humans with AI carries risks. John Chadfield of the Communications Workers Union said TikTok employees have long cautioned that AI is not yet mature enough to monitor content effectively, putting millions of U.K. users at risk.

Chadfield added that 300 employees work in TikTok’s London content moderation department, earning $35,000 to $43,000 annually.