Elon Musk thinks Twitter's algorithm should be public. Here's what that could mean - CNN | April 19, 2022
ioi_ab's bookmarks 2022-04-21
Summary:
"On March 24, weeks before he offered to buy Twitter, Elon Musk posted a poll on the social media platform: "Twitter algorithm should be open source," he wrote, with options for users to vote "yes" or "no." Some of Twitter's technology is already open source, which means it's publicly available for anyone to view, rework, and use for other purposes. But what Musk was asking, essentially, was whether the rules that computers follow to determine what you see in your Twitter (TWTR) feed should be public, too. Over a million votes were tallied by the time the poll closed, with an overwhelming amount of "yes" votes (82.7%). The implication of Musk's suggestion and poll took on new weight last week, after the Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX CEO announced he offered to buy all the shares of Twitter that he doesn't already own in a deal that would value the company at about $41 billion. On Friday, Twitter's board announced a so-called "poison pill" measure that could make it more difficult for Musk to acquire the company. If the deal does go through, Musk has said his goal is to "unlock" Twitter's "extraordinary potential," but his suggestions for specific changes for how to do that have arguably been vague. A key focus of his has been bolstering free speech on the platform, and his suggestion for algorithms is central to that effort...."