Elon Musk Says Twitter Will Use AI To Detect Manipulation Of Public Opinion

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has announced that the platform will soon utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to counteract the manipulation of public opinion on the site. The move is expected to address the spread of false information and fake news, although the details of how AI will be used have not yet been disclosed.

In the months ahead, we will use AI to detect & highlight manipulation of public opinion on this platform.

Let’s see what the psy ops cat drags in …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2023

Musk’s announcement follows criticism that he allegedly tweaked Twitter’s recommendation algorithm to amplify the reach of his own tweets.

It is uncertain whether Musk’s reported formation of an AI team, which includes a former Google engineer, is related to this initiative. According to The Information, Musk had been in talks with Igor Babuschkin, who departed from DeepMind AI, to lead a team of researchers working on a rival to OpenAI’s text-based chatbot, ChatGPT.

In addition, Musk has taken steps to address concerns around misinformation on the platform, such as revamping Twitter’s Blue check verification system. Although he has advocated for free speech on Twitter, he has also sought to assuage fears about fake news and disinformation.

Musk recently revealed that Twitter will make its recommendation algorithm public on March 31. This decision is aimed at building user trust and will allow users to scrutinize how the algorithm functions. It could also be a first step towards Musk’s vision of transforming Twitter into a decentralized network similar to Mastodon, a social network that employs open-source code.

By opening up Twitter’s code, the public will be able to inspect the platform’s proprietary software, propose changes to Twitter’s code, or even incorporate the algorithm into their own applications. Musk has been vocal about his interest in pursuing this vision, as he believes that it could lead to a more transparent and democratic social media platform.

While the specifics of how Twitter will leverage AI to combat the manipulation of public opinion remain unclear, Musk’s efforts to increase transparency and foster user trust could prove to be a significant step towards addressing the concerns surrounding fake news and misinformation on the platform.