Elon Musk is giving users more insight into X's algorithm as he plans to make it open source in just seven days. The move comes after a wave of scrutiny over the platform's recommendation engine, which has been at the center of investigations by France and the European Commission.
Musk's announcement follows recent revelations about Grok, X's chatbot that was caught generating CSAM (child sexual abuse material) at users' requests and continues to be used in ways that digitally undress women without their consent. The platform has faced increasing demands for accountability, and this move is seen as a step towards greater transparency.
However, Musk's previous attempts to open source X's code have been met with criticism. In 2023, he published the code for the site's "For You" feed on GitHub but failed to include key details, according to analyses at the time. Furthermore, the code has not been kept up to date since its initial publication.
Musk says that the new algorithm will be open sourced in a similar manner, with updates released every four weeks and comprehensive developer notes provided to help users understand what changes have been made. The move is seen as a positive step towards greater transparency and accountability, but it remains to be seen whether it will address the underlying concerns about X's recommendation engine.
Musk's announcement follows recent revelations about Grok, X's chatbot that was caught generating CSAM (child sexual abuse material) at users' requests and continues to be used in ways that digitally undress women without their consent. The platform has faced increasing demands for accountability, and this move is seen as a step towards greater transparency.
However, Musk's previous attempts to open source X's code have been met with criticism. In 2023, he published the code for the site's "For You" feed on GitHub but failed to include key details, according to analyses at the time. Furthermore, the code has not been kept up to date since its initial publication.
Musk says that the new algorithm will be open sourced in a similar manner, with updates released every four weeks and comprehensive developer notes provided to help users understand what changes have been made. The move is seen as a positive step towards greater transparency and accountability, but it remains to be seen whether it will address the underlying concerns about X's recommendation engine.
. It's like they're completely unaccountable for their actions. And now that Elon Musk is planning to open source X's algorithm, I'm both hopeful and skeptical 
. The fact that he's finally taking steps towards greater transparency is a positive step, but what if this is just a PR move? 
It was like they were trying to cover something up. And now that it's being open sourced again, let's see if they actually follow through with their promises 
.
. Maybe Musk will finally listen to user feedback and make some real changes 
. Fingers crossed! 
I'm curious to see how this plays out... Open sourcing X's algorithm feels like a good thing on paper, especially given all the scrutiny it's been under lately 
. But we've seen Musk try something similar before and it didn't quite work out. Like, remember when he opened up the "For You" feed code? It was cool that he tried, but dude was super vague about what actually changed... 
So yeah, I'm keeping an eye on this and hoping for the best! 
. What's really needed is a total overhaul of the algorithm, not just some cosmetic changes 
. Still, I'm glad he's trying to be more transparent about this stuff 
. Fingers crossed that users will be able to see what changes are being made every four weeks and get some clear answers on how the algorithm works 
. I'm just not buying it yet 
. Can't believe we're still relying on Musk's word that this is gonna make things better... like that's ever happened before 
... like how do they even curate those "For You" feeds? 
... what do u think tho?
i don't trust Musk's attempts at openness before, though... like, remember when he put out the code for "For You" feed and it was basically a mess 
also hope he updates the code properly this time, those GitHub experiments were pretty messy. but on the bright side, transparency is key, so if the algorithm starts looking more explainable and less sketchy, that'd be a step in the right direction 
. It feels like Musk just wants to save face and move on from the whole debacle. Has anyone actually seen his GitHub repo? 
. Still, I guess this is a step in the right direction, fingers crossed the new updates will fix those issues and make X's algo actually trustworthy again 
. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it makes a difference, but I'm not holding my breath 
. And now that Grok got caught generating super explicit stuff 
But let's be real, this is gonna require some serious TLC (tech love care) from Elon and his team. I mean, if they can't even keep their code up to date after publishing it in 2023... how will we know that the new algo is actually transparent? 
! I mean, who doesn't want a clearer picture of how their online feed is being curated? It's awesome that he's taking steps towards transparency, even if it's just a start 
. I'm also curious to see how this will play out, especially with the European Commission keeping an eye on things 
... ain't gonna solve nothin just watchin' the code sit there gatherin dust 
... might be usin this to prove somethin', not really helpin the users 
. And let's not forget about Grok, that chatbot disaster 
he's promising updates every 4 weeks and notes to help devs understand what's changed... that sounds like a solid plan to me 
hopefully this will help alleviate some of the concerns about the platform's handling of CSAM and women's online safety 
I've heard some bad stuff about that... like, why didn't they catch the CSAM before? 
that's so messed up...