The two co-founders of Instagram revealed a new app they had been developing since leaving the social media giant four years ago.
The Artifact app, developed by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, is described as “a personalised news feed using the latest ai capabilities.” However, anyone who are interested in checking out Artifact can presently sign up for a waitlist, according to a tweet from Systrom on Tuesday.
In September 2018, the business owners quit Instagram after eight years with the Facebook-owned business. There were apparently difficulties between the co-founders and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Instagram), despite Systrom and Krieger publicly stating that they left the company to “explore their creativity and curiosity anew.” The two also started a website in 2020 to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak after they left.
The launch of Artifact demonstrates how AI is continuing to have a wider impact on how users use social media platforms to consume material, including news. For instance, the well-known short-form video app TikTok utilises an algorithm to present users with films they might find interesting on the “For You” page. When speaking with Systrom about Artifact, Platformer’s Casey Newton compared it to “TikTok for text,” however you might equally describe it as “Google Reader reinvented as a mobile app” or even “a surprise attack on Twitter.”
Recommended For You:
It’s been a minute, but @mikeyk and I are back at it with Artifact – a personalized news feed using the latest ai tech. Visit https://t.co/bGIGGIH9sd to sign up and join the community.
— Kevin Systrom (@kevin) January 31, 2023
Users of Artifact get a feed of selected news articles from outlets like The New York Times. The app will display related articles after a user clicks on an article as it gets to know the user’s reading habits. Newton was also informed by Systrom that Artifact has additional features, such as a stream of news articles shared by people you follow that also contains their opinions on the story. Users of Artifact can also have private direct message conversations with friends on the news.
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms have already embraced the use of AI to suggest posts, images, and videos to users, so Artifact will need to demonstrate how its new app is unique. Newton notes that previous tailored news apps like Zite and Pulse have not been successful in gaining enough momentum.
In addition to the fierce rivalry, using AI to propose material raises issues with mental health. Last year, The Wall Street Journal looked into TikTok’s algorithm and discovered that the app was oversaturating kids with material related to eating disorders. In a practise known as “doomscrolling,” people have also become addicted to scrolling through their social media feeds looking for negative news.
An inquiry for comments was not immediately answered by Artifact.
Startups are embracing AI despite the potential threats it may carry. Systrom stated to Newton that he believes algorithmic predictions would dominate social media in the future. “It was funny to me because I kept thinking, “Man, why isn’t this happening elsewhere in social media?” as I glanced around. Why does Twitter still rely heavily on follows? How come Facebook? “asked he.
That’s everything you need to know about the AI-powered news app, but stay tuned to lakecountyfloridanews.com more updates and leaks.
