X Thinks Any Content You See, You Want To See More Of It: Why Elon Musk Has A Big Problem

2 weeks ago

Last Updated: September 02, 2024, 10:02 IST

United States of America (USA)

The X algorithm has been criticised for showing posts that people don't like

The X algorithm has been criticised for showing posts that people don't like

Elon Musk bought Twitter which is now rebranded to X but its popularity among people for news and other updates is undeniable, is that warranted anymore?

The algorithm has a major problem deciphering the reason behind why a person saw one post or liked it. Elon Musk claims the platform assumes that if you interact with content, you want to see more of that content. And for a platform that serves content, including news to a large audience, this is a big issue that needs to be resolved before it causes major upheaval in the world.

It is not often that you see a tech chief admitting to issues with their platform that too in the open but Musk has been vocal about the issues faced by the X algorithm, admitting that the technology is not smart enough to realise that you may have shared a post on the platform because you were outraged.

The algorithm assumes that if you interact with content, you want to see more of that content. One of the strongest signals is if you forward posts to friends, it assumes you like that content a lot, because it takes effort to forward.

Unfortunately, if the actual reason…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2024

Tech Is Not Smart, But Why

Having the power to read the tonality of the post has to be a vital part of the X algorithm but seems Musk hasn’t focused on making the platform rich on content with credibility rather than let it be at the mercy of the technology which is clearly faltering. “One of the strongest signals is if you forward posts to friends, it assumes you like that content a lot, because it takes effort to forward,” Musk said in his post here on Monday.

For instance, one user on the platform asks Musk, why does she keep seeing posts from US Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, to which he replies, “ I see them too (sigh), It is because I replied to some of her posts.”

So, Does that mean if you are seeing a post, you might not like it? Musk needs a better mechanism put in place to counter such simplistic issues or else that won’t be far when its algorithm actually strikes the wrong chord on the internet and starts a feud that would be a disaster for everyone involved on the platform.

S Aadeetya

S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media ho

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