Instagram has shared new details on how its app uses machine learning to surface content for users, stressing that, when making recommendations, it focuses on finding accounts it thinks people will enjoy, rather than individual posts. The blog post is technical in nature and contains no big surprises, but it offers an interesting behind-the-scenes perspective at a time when algorithmic recommendation systems are under scrutiny for pushing users toward dangerous, hateful, and extremist content. While Instagram has not been criticized with the same ferocity as YouTube (dubbed "the Great Radicalizer" by The New York Times), it certainly has its share of problems. Hateful content and misinformation thrive on the platform as much as any other social network, and certain mechanisms in the app (like its suggested follows feature) have been shown to push users toward extreme viewpoints for topics like anti-vaccination. In its blog post, though, Instagram's engineers explain the operation of the Explore tab while steering clear of thorny political issues. "This is the first time we're going into heavy detail on the foundational building blocks that help us provide personalized content at scale," Instagram software engineer Ivan Medvedev told The Vergeover email.

Instagram has shared new details on how its app uses machine learning to surface content for users, stressing that, when making recommendations, it focuses on finding accounts it thinks people will enjoy, rather than individual posts. The blog post is technical in nature and contains no big surprises, but it offers an interesting behind-the-scenes perspective at a time when algorithmic recommendation systems are under scrutiny for pushing users toward dangerous, hateful, and extremist content. While Instagram has not been criticized with the same ferocity as YouTube (dubbed "the Great Radicalizer" by The New York Times), it certainly has its share of problems. Hateful content and misinformation thrive on the platform as much as any other social network, and certain mechanisms in the app (like its suggested follows feature) have been shown to push users toward extreme viewpoints for topics like anti-vaccination. In its blog post, though, Instagram's engineers explain the operation of the Explore tab while steering clear of thorny political issues. "This is the first time we're going into heavy detail on the foundational building blocks that help us provide personalized content at scale," Instagram software engineer Ivan Medvedev told The Verge over email.

Last month I watched Claire Beale of Campaign interview Lorraine Candy of Elle at Magnetic's annual Spark event. Speaking "editor-in-chief to editor-in-chief", Beale asked Candy what role human editors had in an age of data and algorithms. Candy's answer was simple: "We [editors] are the walking algorithms". Her contention was well received in the room, but perhaps unsurprising given her role. AI is also becoming mainstream.