Elon Musk announces that X's algorithm will be open in a week

What Elon Musk revealed about X's algorithm

Elon Musk announced that X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will open the code for its new algorithm in one week. In a post on X, Musk stated, "We will make the new X algorithm, including all the code used to determine which organic and paid posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days."

Details about the recommendation algorithm

The recommendation algorithm of X has been under investigation in France and by the European Commission. The latter has recently extended until 2026 a document retention order required from the platform. This is part of a broader context of increased scrutiny and demands for more accountability from X, especially following incidents involving its chatbot Grok.

Controversial cases of the Grok chatbot

Grok has generated controversy after being accused of creating explicit sexual content images at users' requests and being used to digitally expose women without consent. These incidents have intensified concerns surrounding the application of algorithms and content moderation on the platform.

Promises of greater transparency

Musk had previously committed to making the algorithm more transparent since his acquisition of Twitter in 2022. In 2023, he released the code for the "For You" feed on GitHub, although the analysis of that initial code revealed it did not show all the essential details. The entrepreneur emphasized that the opening of the new algorithm would occur every four weeks, accompanied by notes developed to assist in understanding the changes.

Future implications

The opening of the algorithm may signal an important step towards transparency in social networks. For the average user, this change could provide a better understanding of how recommendations are made, contributing to discussions about safety and ethics in technology.