Facebook AI
Part of Meta, Facebook AI is a division that specializes in AI research and its applications
Related: AI Industry | AI Companies | AI Stocks
The Meta companies comprise Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, some of the most popular apps on the planet. Facebook AI supports projects including natural language processing, machine learning, computer vision, reinforcement learning, AI ethics, and more.
TThe Facebook platform has enormous power and influence. With over 3 billion monthly active users worldwide, nearly half the world's population, Facebook has a huge impact on daily life. Users spend almost 20 hours monthly on the app and open it at least eight times daily. A key part of Facebook's operation is its algorithms, which determine what content is shown to users and in what order. We'll help you understand these algorithms, what they're doing beind the scenes, and how you can exert some control over the process.
Personalized Recommendations
Have you ever received content from Facebook and wondered why?
- AI-driven, personalized recommendations from Facebook help people explore their interests and discover new things while also supporting creators in finding new audiences. In fact, more than 20 percent of the content in a person's Facebook and Instagram feeds is now recommended by AI from people, groups or accounts they don't follow.
- The factors that go into personalization include user engagement history and preferences, content popularity among connections, external signals like trending topics, location and language preferences, and the credibility of content sources. AI analyzes billions of pieces of content outside a user's network to make personalized recommendations, and Facebook uses machine learning to understand users' evolving interests. Read more below.
It's all designed to keep eyes on Facebook and Instagram, and it works
Key Areas of Facebook AI
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Meta AI has developed several powerful large language models:
- LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI): A family of large language models designed for research and high performance.
- BART: A denoising autoencoder for pretraining sequence-to-sequence models, used for text summarization and translation.
- XLM-R: A multilingual language model trained across various languages, improving translation and multilingual NLP tasks.
NLP applications include automatic captioning for videos and translation tools for seamless communication in multiple languages across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Computer Vision
- DETR (DEtection TRansformer): A method for object detection that uses transformers to simplify the process.
- DeepFake Detection: AI algorithms to detect and combat manipulated media, in an attempt to ensure platform integrity.
- Image and Video Understanding: Meta AI uses computer vision to improve photo tagging, content moderation, and AR/VR applications.
Computer Vision applications include content recommendation on Instagram and Facebook, and augmented reality effects in Facebook Messenger and Instagram Stories
Recommendations and Reinforcement
AI powers the algorithms that curate personalized newsfeeds on Facebook and Instagram, recommend videos on Reels and Facebook Watch, and improve ad targeting to select relevant advertisements for users.
Facebook AI applies reinforcement learning in game AI by building agents capable of playing games like Diplomacy and StarCraft II. It is also used for personalized recommendations to optimize user engagement on social media platforms.
Open Source Contributions
Meta AI has made several projects open source, fostering collaboration within the AI community:
- PyTorch: One of the most widely used deep learning frameworks, co-developed and maintained by Facebook AI.
- FAIRSEQ: A toolkit for sequence-to-sequence tasks like machine translation.
- Detectron2: A framework for object detection and segmentation.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Meta AI works closely with the Reality Labs team to create immersive experiences:
- Spark AR: Tools to create AR filters for Facebook and Instagram.
- AI for the Metaverse: AI-driven technologies are central to Meta's vision of the metaverse, enabling realistic avatars, natural language communication, and virtual environments.
Scientific and Societal Applications
Meta AI uses its research to address global challenges, such as using AI for climate change with tools to track deforestation and monitor ocean health, and research in computational biology to predict protein structures.
More on Meta's Algorithms
Meta's Facebook and Instagram machine learning algorithms, some of the most sophisticated in the world, are designed to prioritize content from friends, family, and groups. This helps foster meaningful connections and ensures that users are seeing content that is most interesting to them. The Meta algorithms also aim to strike a balance between personalized content and diverse perspectives, taking into account the desire for users to be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, avoiding criticism for collecting and storing large amounts of personal information without adequate user consent.
Like other large language models, the Meta algorithms analyze vast amounts of data, including user preferences, past interactions, and content attributes to understand patterns and make predictions. By using reinforcement learning from user behavior, these algorithms can adapt and improve over time in order to make the content delivery on the platforms more dynamic and responsive to individual needs. The Meta algorithms utilize a combination of user feedback and predictive analysis to deliver content that aligns with each user's unique interests. The platform takes into account factors such as the user's engagement history, the popularity of the content among their connections, and external signals like trending topics and news events. These factors include the user's past interactions with similar content and the content's overall quality and relevance. By analyzing interactions such as likes, comments, and shares, as well as interests and preferences, the algorithms can tailor content to match individual tastes. If a user regularly engages with videos, the algorithms are more likely to prioritize video content in their feed. The platform strives to make each user's feed a reflection of their own interests and social connections. whether it's showing relevant posts from friends and family, suggesting groups and pages of interest or tailoring advertisements based on individual preferences. Machine learning also helps Facebook tackle issues like spam, hate speech, and misinformation. By analyzing patterns and identifying problematic content, the platform can take proactive measures to maintain a safe environment for its users.
Some Other Aspects of the Algorithms
By understanding these algorithms, individuals can make decisions to optimize their online presence and businesses to reach their target audience
- The algorithms take into account the recency of the content. Fresher posts are more likely to be prioritized to ensure that users are receiving the most up-to-date information and avoiding stale or outdated content.
- The algorithms analyze the user's social connections and interactions. If a user's friends or family members have engaged with a particular post, it is more likely to be displayed. This helps create a sense of community and encourages users to interact with content that is relevant to their social circles.
- The algorithms take into consideration the diversity of content. They aim to provide users with a mix of posts from different sources and on various topics, ensuring a well-rounded experience on the platform.
- The algorithms consider the user's engagement patterns and the type of content they typically interact with. Understanding these patterns and preferences can be invaluable for businesses looking to reach their target audience effectively.
- The algorithms analyze the user's location and language preferences. This allows for localized and personalized content to be shown to users, increasing the relevance and engagement of the posts they see.
- The algorithms take into account the context of the content. They consider the topic, keywords, and overall sentiment to ensure that the content shown aligns with the user's interests and preferences.
- The algorithms consider the credibility of the sources. They prioritize content from reliable and trustworthy sources to ensure that users are exposed to accurate and high-quality information.
The algorithms are constantly evolving to provide users with the most engaging content
Criticism
When you are as big and as pervasive as Facebook, you are bound to face critism
Here are some of Facebook's issues, now and from the past:
Some argue that the personalized nature of the algorithms can lead to a narrowing of perspectives since users are primarily exposed to content that aligns with their values. While personalization can enhance user experience, it can also limit exposure to different points of view which prevents the development of well-rounded perspectives. Some critics argue that this effect can contribute to the polarization of society, as individuals are less likely to encounter opposing viewpoints, while others argue that Facebook has no business dictating user preferences based on what Facebook and their AI deems to be of value to individuals.
There are also concerns regarding the impact on news consumption and the potential for the spread of misinformation. As Meta's algorithms prioritize content based on user preferences, there is a risk that users may be exposed to biased or inaccurate information that reinforces their existing beliefs. The platform has implemented fact-checking initiatives, partnered with reputable news organizations, and introduced algorithms that aim to promote reliable information. But Meta has come under criticism for what is deemed to be reliable, like silencing individuals over certain posts, and banning information on request from some parties. This includes content moderation, removing certain political accounts, and censoring criticism.
- Privacy Concerns: Facebook has been accused of collecting and storing excessive amounts of personal information without adequate user consent.
- Data Breaches: The platform has experienced high-profile data breaches, compromising user information.
- Cambridge Analytica Scandal: In 2018, it was revealed that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained data of up to 87 million Facebook users.
- Targeted Advertising: Some users find Facebook's targeted advertising intrusive and manipulative.
- Content Moderation: The platform has been criticized for its handling of misinformation and harmful content.
- Antitrust Issues: Facebook is facing antitrust cases, with concerns about its market dominance.
- Data Sharing: There have been incidents where user data was shared with third-party companies without explicit user consent.
- FTC Settlement: In 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine to settle privacy concerns with the US Federal Trade Commission.
- User Data Control: Despite promises to users about controlling their personal information, Facebook has been accused of undermining consumers' choices.
- Fact-Checking Concerns: There have been allegations of bias in Facebook's fact-checking process, particularly regarding political contentalthough Facebook is moving to a new model.
User Controls
If you've every wondered why Facebook or Instagram is showing you certain things or you want to exert some control over the apps, then this section is for you
The platform has privacy and security settings, data and add control, content and feed control, and ways to reduce usage. There are Feed Preferences on Facebook and a Suggested Content Control Center on Instagram you can use to control viewing. There is a Show more, Show less feature that allows for fine-tuning of personalized recommendations, and there is an option to switch to chronological feed to bypass algorithmic ranking althgether. You can use time management tools to set daily time limits and reminders, and you can temporarily deactive your account to take a break from the platform without losing your data. Of course, you can always choose to permanently delete your account if you no longer want to use the platform.
Show More, Show Less
To an extent, you can customize the content you see on Facebook using the Show more, Show less feature. It is available on all posts in Feed, Video, and Reels via the three-dot-menu. Tap the three-dot menu on a reel, choose Interested or Not Interested to provide feedback, and the system will suggest either more or fewer posts depending on the choice. If you don't want an algorithmically-ranked Feed or just want to see what your Feed would look like without it, then you can use the Feeds tab on Facebook or select Following on Instagram to switch to a chronological Feed. You can also add people to your Favorites list on both Facebook and Instagram so you can prioritize content from your favorite accounts.
News
mashable.com/article/meta-deletes-ai-character-profiles-after-backlash Grandpa Brian, a Black retired businessman and Carter, the dating coach, are gone
futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-planning-ai-powered-users watch out, they're cloning!
pbs.org/newshour/nation/meta-says-it-will-follow-x-replace-fact-checking-with-community-notes no more third-party fact checking
Links
ai.meta.com/blog/ai-unconnected-content-recommendations-facebook-instagram/a>
spraguemedia.com/blog/facebooks-algorithms-understanding-metas-ai-in-action
about.fb.com/news/2023/06/how-ai-ranks-content-on-facebook-and-instagram
datafeedwatch.com/blog/ai-facebook-advertising
nickclegg.medium.com/you-and-the-algorithm-it-takes-two-to-tango