Elon Musk may soon free the caged blue board by open-sourcing the Twitter algorithm. Read to know what this means and the changes it will bring. (housecalldoctor.com.au)
Open-source Twitter algorithm: What does this mean?
Based on Elon Musk’s recent tweet in reply to another user, he may soon open-source the Twitter algorithm. The decision may help open several opportunities for the platform including challenging other open-source alternatives such as Nostr and Mastodon. Open sourcing is ensuring the code designing software is accessible to the public. In addition to increasing transparency, it allows people to modify, view and share the code.
A Twitter user replying to a tweet from the CEO calling the platform the “world’s largest non-profit organization,” asked Musk to open-source it. “Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week,” replied Musk.
More on the move: Twitter to open source its algorithm
Even before becoming the CEO of the platform, Elon Musk has been a supporter of open-sourcing the platform’s algorithm. Moreover, he had a spar with former CEO Jack Dorsey on the issue. In March 2022, he asked Twitterati if the platform should be open-sourced. “You are being manipulated by the algorithm in ways you don’t realize. Open source is the way to go to solve both trust and efficacy,” stated Musk in a conversation with Dorsey.
Musk believes that the algorithm manipulates and amplifies certain viewpoints without the user realizing it by guessing what they want to see on the platform. Additionally, Dorsey is also a supporter of the idea. Previously, he has expressed his regret in turning the platform into a company. He believed the platform must have been an open and verifiable protocol. Twitter should be based on “an open source protocol, funded by a foundation,” stated Dorsey.