Microsoft has acquired Two Hat, a content moderation service provider that has been policing Xbox communities for years. Two Hat, founded nearly 10 years ago by former cybersecurity specialist Disney Interactive, uses AI to classify and filter billions of human interactions, analyzing text messages, images, videos, user names and more.
Microsoft's acquisition of Two Hat is designed to improve content moderation in games and extend it to the Redmond corporation's other consumer services. Microsoft has big ambitions in this area. Earlier this year, the company hired a former Uber executive to lead its work on new consumer applications. Moreover, Microsoft has recently been trying to acquire popular social products, including TikTok, Pinterest and Discord.
CEO Satya Nadella has expressed an interest in seeing Microsoft focus on communities built around content creators, and moderation is paramount in any online, community-based service. Two Hat has several customers besides Microsoft, and the Redmond company has no plans to stop supporting them. Not only that, the company says it intends to attract new customers. As for Two Hat's collaboration with Microsoft, three years ago the Redmond tech giant launched a series of text filters for its Xbox network, after gaming chief Phil Spencer laid out a plan to combat toxic behavior in games.
Two Hat has been helping Microsoft with these ideas. As for future plans, Microsoft reportedly intends to get the ability to moderate Xbox Live sessions by filtering real-time voice chats.
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