So one of the things that I believe Twitter should do is open-source the algorithm.
Musk argued that disclosing what amplifies or downranks tweets would reduce the risk of behind the scenes manipulation.
How would Elon Musk change Twitter if he were to buy it?
First, hed make it open source.
These concerns have been rampant with Google and Facebook.
This open-sourcing move could be game-changing for social media overall.
These processes produce results that even their developers dont fully comprehend.
There are various other factors behind a tweets ranking.
These constitute an enormous pool of data, which would be tough to trawl through and costly to disseminate.
(@stevetex)April 17, 2022
Further complexities arise from the mutability of the system.
There are also potential dangers of the open-source proposal.
The information could be copied by competitors, provide a tempting target for cybercriminals, and violate user privacy.
It could also hinder another of Musks ambitions: defeat the spambots.
On the other hand, open source offers new opportunities to find vulnerabilities and flaws.
If you make something open source, wont that make it easier to find vulnerabilities?
cdixon.eth (@cdixon)April 26, 2022
Reddy is optimistic about the potential benefits.
She argues that open-sourcing the ranking algorithm will be useful for research and evaluating any biases.
She also expects to find further insights from the infrastructure components that influence whats flagged and filtered in feeds.
Another prominent proponent of the approach is Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey.
The companys ex-CEO has suggested letting users choose which if any algorithm they use.
It sounds potentially idyllic particularly if it can stop my feed from constantly showing obnoxious tweets by Elon Musk.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
