From the founders of Instagram comes a new app that could rival Twitter.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, who founded Instagram in 2010 and then sold it to Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, are back with a new app called “Artifact,” CNN Business reported.
What is Artifact?
Artifact bills itself as a “a personalized news feed driven by artificial intelligence.”
Casey Newton for Platformer referred to the concept as “kind of TikTok for text,” referring to the fact that the app uses AI to create personalized algorithms based on the user’s interests, similar to TikTok.
The main difference is that rather than a feed of videos like TikTok offers, Artifact presents users with a feed of articles to read.
The types of articles readers will be presented with will draw from a “curated collection of approved sources,” ranging from organizations like The New York Times to small blogs, according to the Financial Times.
Is Artifact the new Twitter?
Artifact could also be viewed as “a surprise attack on Twitter,” Newton wrote.
“The collapse of Twitter under Elon Musk has created an opportunity for a team with genuine expertise in this space to take a run at text-based social networking again,” he continued.
Systrom told the Financial Times that it is “a particularly timely moment both in the technology industry, with Twitter’s takeover by Elon and Facebook’s focus on the Metaverse. And it is particularly a timely moment to focus on text when we need it most because of people’s attention to misinformation and how we consume news today.”
How to join Artifact
The waitlist for Artifact opened Tuesday, CNET reported. To join the waitlist, simply go to the app’s website — artifact.news — and enter your phone number.