Elon Musk Is Right About One Thing
Open sourcing Twitter’s algorithm to the public would make the service more trustworthy.
Elon Musk’s attempt to acquire Twitter is unlikely to succeed for a variety of reasons. His bid is low, the board is actively pursuing a poison pill, and most people are simply creeped out by the world's richest man owning what has become the planet's town square. He also has no clear plan for moderating content. But whether he takes over the company or not, his call for opening the Twitter algorithm to public scrutiny is worth consideration.
In his bid to acquire the company, Musk laid out a lofty vision:
I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.
However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.
Yesterday at the TED conference he doubled down on the importance of Twitter as a platform for free speech. “Having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.” Musk said. “I don't care about economics at all.”
The formula for building a “maximally trusted” platform is the challenge. Social networks need to be managed by algorithms, humans, or both. Short of running an unmoderated service, that management will introduce legal, moral, or political biases. This is unavoidable, but it could at least be transparent.
Facebook and Twitter rank and sort content according to rules only they know. Google does the same thing with its search algorithm, spawning an entire industry of Search Engine Optimation. This is fuel for conspiracy theorists who feel technocrats are censoring their posts, but they are not wrong to be concerned. The algorithms are shaping our worldviews and we can’t understand how without seeing them.
It is easy to dismiss Musk as a self-absorbed megalomaniac, but he is on solid ground when calling for greater algorithmic transparency.
But would I want him to be the final arbiter of “truth” on Twitter? No way.
This Is What’s Musk’s Tweet History Looks Like
Source: Visual Capitalist
Today’s Bits
New AI Technology Generates Astounding Images with Just a Few Words of Text
Panera Bread is testing automated coffee brewing with Miso Robotics
Migrant advocates sue US government for data from surveillance program
Space Command’s Lt. Gen John Shaw Says Space Is 'Under Threat'