Elon Musk's social media platform X has made a landmark move by open-sourcing the core architecture of the algorithm that powers its "For You" feed. The system, which determines how posts are ranked and surfaced to users, is built on the same transformer-based machine learning architecture that underpins Grok, the AI model from Musk's xAI venture.
The algorithm predicts user engagement—such as likes, replies, and reposts—to rank content, pulling posts from accounts a user follows and a wider pool discovered via machine learning. In a post following the announcement, Musk candidly admitted the algorithm "needs massive improvements" but argued that public scrutiny would accelerate progress. He committed to publishing regular updates every four weeks, accompanied by detailed developer notes.
The timing of this transparency push is significant, as X has recently intensified a crackdown on so-called "InfoFi" and engagement-reward applications, many of which were tied to crypto incentives. The company has restricted API access for these projects, citing concerns over AI-generated spam and content manipulation. This policy shift has already sent shockwaves through the crypto market, notably causing the KAITO token, linked to the Kaito platform, to plunge roughly 20% in a single day.
Beyond crypto, X's broader AI strategy is drawing regulatory attention, particularly in Europe, where authorities have raised concerns about Grok's image-generation features. The platform has since limited certain capabilities and introduced safeguards. The open-source release also comes as X faces competitive pressure, with data showing Meta's Threads surpassing X in daily active users.
