Unless you’ve chosen a chronological view on Facebook, the assortment of posts on your timeline may often seem random. Meta recently unveiled an in-depth look into the workings of its AI that determines the posts appearing on Facebook and Instagram feeds. The social media behemoth has launched 22 explanatory card systems for these platforms, shedding light on how its AI ranks content for Feed, Stories, and Reels.
Each card elaborates on a specific aspect of Meta’s operations — for instance, one explains that the Facebook Feed AI starts by collecting potential posts from friends and Pages you follow. The system then factors in various elements, such as the post’s originator, your interactions with them, and the number of friends who’ve liked the post. These considerations allow the AI to rank posts based on their perceived relevance to you and displays them on your feed according to the resulting scores. The card systems also offer insight on how to modify your viewing experience, providing guides on tasks like unfollowing a person or a group, or using the “show more” or “show less” feature to express your preference for a subject.
In an announcement about the release of these cards, Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, detailed the tools available for personalizing your experience on the platforms. Alongside the aforementioned tools, Facebook and Instagram provide central menus for customization controls, named Feed Preferences and Suggested Content Control Center, respectively. Clegg revealed that Meta is trialing a new Instagram feature that allows users to signal interest in a recommended reel in the Reels tab, prompting the app to show more similar content. Currently, users can only indicate disinterest in a specific reel. He also mentioned plans to increase the visibility of the “show more” and “show less” feature.
Meta has decided to pull back the curtain on its algorithms prior to the enactment of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act in 2024. This upcoming law will mandate online platforms like Facebook and Instagram to provide greater transparency about their recommendation algorithms. It also stipulates that platforms must provide chronological feeds and prohibits ads targeted based on your religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or political affiliation. Earlier in the year, Meta introduced an updated version of its “Why am I seeing this ad?” tool for greater transparency about how user activity influences its ad-matching software.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about AI Content Curation
What is Meta’s recent announcement about its AI systems on Facebook and Instagram?
Meta recently made an announcement unveiling the workings of its AI systems on Facebook and Instagram. They provided comprehensive explanations through 22 card systems, detailing how the AI ranks and displays content on platforms such as Feed, Stories, and Reels.
What factors does Meta’s AI consider when ranking posts on Facebook and Instagram?
Meta’s AI takes various factors into account when ranking posts. These include the creator of the post, the user’s interactions with them, and the number of likes from friends. By analyzing these input signals, the AI determines the relevance and value of each post, subsequently displaying them on the feed in order of their respective scores.
How can users customize their experience on Facebook and Instagram?
Meta offers several tools for users to personalize their experience. Along with the newly explained AI systems, users can utilize customization controls such as Feed Preferences and Suggested Content Control Center on Facebook and Instagram, respectively. These menus allow users to have more control over what they see on their feeds.
What additional features is Meta testing or planning to implement?
Meta is currently testing a new feature on Instagram that allows users to indicate their interest in recommended reels. This feature enables the app to display more similar content. Additionally, Meta is working on making the “show more” and “show less” feature more prominent, providing users with enhanced control over the content they see.
Why did Meta reveal the mechanics behind its algorithms?
Meta chose to disclose the mechanics behind its algorithms in anticipation of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which will be enacted in 2024. This law mandates online services like Facebook and Instagram to be more transparent about their recommendation algorithms. It also requires platforms to offer chronological feeds and prohibits targeted ads based on religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or political affiliation.
What other transparency initiatives has Meta undertaken?
In addition to revealing the mechanics behind its algorithms, Meta has rolled out an updated version of its “Why am I seeing this ad?” tool. This tool provides users with more transparency regarding how their activities influence the ad-matching software used by Meta.
More about AI Content Curation
- Meta’s announcement on AI systems
- Digital Markets Act
- Facebook Help Center: Customize Your News Feed
- Instagram Help Center: Control What You See
- Meta’s transparency initiatives
5 comments
transparency, finally! kudos to meta for sharin how their algorithms work. but hey, it shouldn’t have taken a law to make it happen. we deserve to know what’s goin on behind the scenes and have control over our data. keep pushin for more transparency, folks!
whoa, meta spillin the beans on their AI secrets! this means i can fine-tune my feed, get more of what i want, and less of what i don’t. gonna play around with these customization tools and see if i can boost my influencer game. thanks, meta!
meta finally explainin how deir ai wrks on facebook n instagram. it wuz abt time! i wuz gettin so confused wit d random stuff showin up on my timeline. nice to know dey consider stuff like who posted it n how u interacted wit it. gud move, meta!
so meta is givin us a sneak peek into their algorithm game, huh? gotta say, it’s interestin to see how dey rank stuff on our feeds. but will it really make a difference? i still want a real chronological timeline option tho. give us back control, meta!
digital markets act soundin like a big deal. bout time these platforms get transparent. i’m glad meta is tryna get ahead of it. now i can understand why i’m seein certain ads and posts. more power to the users, i say!