As everybody knows, Elon Musk wants to buy the company, and one of the ideas he’s pushing is to open-source the algorithm that decides how tweets are ranked in all of our timelines. Whether or not the sale goes through (seems unlikely), I actually think this is a great idea. In fact I would go further and argue Twitter should not only open-source their algorithm so we can all see how it works, I think they should create an open marketplace for algorithms where anyone can build their own, and use algorithms created by others.
For example I’d want to try an algorithm that attempts to prioritize nuanced conversations about important topics. Maybe someone else would want algorithms to find mind-expanding threads, savage dunks, or thirst traps of hot new snax.
Would this transform society? No. Would it “unlock Twitter’s true potential”? Probably not, tbh.
But I do think it would be a solid step towards making Twitter a better and more fun place for everyone, and I think it could rebuild some marginal trust in Twitter as an institution, by demanding less of it. It would give more control to users, and move Twitter back towards its pirate roots of operating more like an open protocol, while still protecting against the downsides of full decentralization.
Nathan Baschez
If feels like the notion of open-sourcing Twitter’s algorithm has been around forever, and now that Elon Musk has developed a malign interest in the company, he adopted it as one of his solutions to ‘fix’ the site. It strikes me as the type of thought that, when you think about them for more than five seconds, you realize they’re a rare combination of completely preposterous and utterly ineffective.
I can’t imagine the average Twitter consumer would grasp the difference between various raking algorithms enough to make an informed decision. I am more familiar with coding than most and I wouldn’t trust my judgement on this. It’s not even an issue of inspecting certain sections of code; current algorithms include large machine learning models so complex even the people who built them struggle to make sense of the results.
The most likely outcome of ‘an open marketplace for algorithms’ would be most people sticking with the default, as is the case when people choose default apps for their smartphones or default browsers on their desktops – and that is a much easier and more transparent choice to make. Alternatively, Elon Musk would promote his preferred algorithm and his ardent fans would rush to adopt it – an algorithms that likely would promote his own brilliant tweets above anyone else’s and suppress any hint of criticism.
As others pointed out, Twitter doesn't even operate a single algorithm; there are different components for the home feed, ads targeting, trending and discovery, adding another layer of complexity. And if you’re talking about moderation, that has a fairly critical human component that no algorithm would be able to replace yet.
Con: There's a huge problem with full algorithmic transparency: Gaming. If everyone can see how the Twitter algorithm works, you can bet every creepy viral marketer will be in there looking for ways to exploit it. Expect manipulation. A lot of it. Some opacity is necessary.
— Tobias Rose-Stockwell (@TobiasRose) April 25, 2022
Ironically enough, the author discusses some of the possible negative consequences in his article (increased polarization and low adoption), but mostly dismisses them because he thinks his idea is ‘cool’ and ‘fun’. Ultimately, he doesn't seem to remotely understand either the context or the implications: Twitter is not an ‘institution’, and building trust in a community requires more rules, not less – or better said fairer and consistently enforced rules. People continue to live in this fantasy of the nascent, open Internet, but you cannot turn back the clock with the force of nostalgia and wishful thinking. Open-sourcing the Twitter algorithm to me sounds like a veiled excuse to evade responsibility for the consequences of its raking choices – and that might be exactly what Elon Musk is after.
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