Artifact: Instagram Co-founders' take on AI-driven news feed

The two co-founders of Instagram unveiled a new app they have been developing since leaving the social media behemoth four years ago.

The Artifact app, developed by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, is described as "a personalised news feed using the latest AI tech." Those who are interested in checking out Artifact must receive an invitation, although they can currently join a waitlist, Systrom stated in a tweet on Tuesday.

In September 2018, the entrepreneurs quit Instagram after their 8-years stint with the Facebook-owned business. There were reportedly tensions between the co-founders and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, despite Systrom and Krieger publicly stating that they left the company to "explore their creativity and curiosity again." In 2020, the two also launched a website to track the COVID-19 outbreak after they had left Instagram.

On a "For You" page, Artifact provides news articles that users may find interesting.

The launch of Artifact demonstrates how AI is continuing to have a bigger impact on how people use social media platforms to consume content, including news. For instance, the well-known short-form video app TikTok utilises an algorithm to present users with videos 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," though you could also describe it as "Google Reader reborn as a mobile app" or even "a surprise attack on Twitter."

Users of Artifact get a feed of selected news articles from publishers like The New York Times. The app will display related articles after a user clicks on a story as it gets to know the user's reading interests. Newton was also informed by Systrom that Artifact has additional features, such as a feed of news articles posted by people you follow that also include their comments on the story. Users of Artifact can also have private direct message conversations with friends about the news.

This is how it goes: Users are prompted to select 10 or more topics when they join up in order to customise their news feed. The app tracks how much of an article a user has read and features a "For You" page similar to TikTok. For instance, the "For You" page of the app will display more articles about interior design as the user reads more of those stories. A feature of the app named "Headlines" presents the most recent news stories.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms have already embraced AI to suggest posts, images, and videos to users, so Artifact will need to prove how its new app is unique. The Google News app also features "For You" and "Headline" sections.

In addition to fierce competition, using AI to recommend content raises issues with mental health. Last year, The Wall Street Journal looked into TikTok's algorithm and discovered that the app was oversaturating teens with material related to eating disorders. In a practice known as "doom-scrolling," people have also become addicted to scrolling through their social media feeds looking for the bad news.

Startups are embracing AI despite the possible risks it may carry. Systrom stated that he believes algorithmic predictions will dominate social media in the future.