artificial intelligence tool to help people have better control over the content they see on their news feeds. With a single tap or click of a button, individuals can decide whether they would like to remove certain types of posts. The move will teach the feed algorithm to base later recommendations on their preferences.
In earlier days of social media, Facebook was regarded as the leading platform to not only communicate with their network of real-life and online acquaintances alike but also consume all kinds of news sourced from various outlets. However, with the barrage of problems Facebook has faced over the years — from battling misinformation to constantly making changes to its algorithm not everyone is too happy about — the migration of s from the platform onto newer and less-problematic social media apps seems to be on a steady rise. The latest use of artificial intelligence in a tool designed to make the Facebook news feed better and more relevant may potentially turn things around for those dissatisfied with the app.
appear less on the news feed as the button implies.
The Science Behind Facebook's Show More/Show Less Buttons
According to Facebook, the AI behind the latest algorithm tweak is designed to work well regardless of how often people utilize the 'Show more' and 'Show less' switches or how often they interact with news feed posts daily. However, like with most AI-backed projects, using the tool with a little more regularity will improve the algorithm's predictive capabilities much faster. The same is true for other Facebook features like hitting reaction buttons and making comments on posts, but compared to these methods, the new 'Show more/less' buttons are a more direct way of giving to Facebook. For instance, if a person hits the like button on a post but also indicates they'd rather see less of it, the algorithm will take the hint and may potentially limit their exposure to similar posts moving forward.
For now, Facebook s may only see 'Show more' and 'Show less' on recommended Facebook posts, content shared in communities they've ed, or posts made by their s on the app. The buttons' appearance on specific posts is predicted by the AI using two types of generated data: one that observes a 's preferences and another that analyzes the makings of the post itself, such as text, image, the who posted it, audio, video and comments, to name some. Together, this data is used to foresee whether someone would be inclined to hit either 'Show more' or 'Show less' on the post.
s should be able to see and use the 'Show more' and 'Show less' buttons on Facebook Reels in the coming weeks as the company refines the new tool. Similar controls may also appear in the Facebook app's 'Feed Preferences' section in 'Settings' for some s. In the meantime, those who haven't come across the new feature yet can still use reactions, post comments, and tweak their Facebook feed by marking favorites as well as snoozing, unfollowing, or reconnecting with s on the app.
Sources: Facebook 1, 2, Twitter