**ChennaiHome grown multi-lingual microblogging platform Koo on Wednesday published the philosophy and workings behind its core algorithms in a bid to bring in more transparency and neutrality on the platform. The move is aimed to empower users to know why they are seeing the content that they do
Algorithms are a set of mathematical rules that help to personalize and improve experiences for users based on their own behaviors and preferences. The core tenet of these algorithms is to drive relevancy for a user
Koo's move comes at a time when Twitter is facing flak from billionaire Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO has said that Twitter's algorithms should be open source
Any changes to people's tweetsif they're emphasized or de-emphasizedthat action should be made apparent he had said. So anyone can see that that action has been taken so there's no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually
He added that the underlying code behind the algorithm should be available on GitHub, so that users could inspect it themselves
Koo's move to open up the algorithm seeks to educate and make users aware of how it achieves its objectives
Discover the stories of your interest
Mayank Bidawatka, Co-founder, Koo told ET that Musk's envisioning of an algorithm that is completely open to people who will be able to decide for themselves is one that is complex and not the most user-friendly option for an average user. He said that Musk, being a sophisticated user, could possibly make those decisions about how to make the algorithm work best for him but said that this was not something that would work for a large portion of the population
By making our algorithms public we are taking a step towards letting users understand how we drive relevance," he explained. "Algorithms are constantly evolving, and are experimented with on a very frequent basis, and while we start with publishing these, in the near future, we will also be providing users with the flexibility to see a timeline feed if they so wish. This gives them the best of both worlds
Koo discusses the broad variables used in its four main algorithms - Feed, Trending #, People recommendations and Notifications. These four algorithms determine the type of content users see and consume
"To speak openly about our algorithms is part of our commitment to letting users know that there are no hidden agendas at Koo," Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder & CEO, Koo said in a statement
He added that the company will continue to keep users informed about how Koo operates, and to build trust about how it is building a "safe, unbiased and reliable social media platform for the future
Recently, Koo also enabled Voluntary Self-Verification which allows all users to get recognized as genuine, credible voices on the platform
Adani Promoters Prepay $1.1b Loans Backed by Share Pledges
Gautam Adani and his family have repaid 9,250 crore ($1.1 billion) of debt backed by shares early as the cement-to-coal conglomerate sought to soothe investor nerves. This follows a $110 billion erasure of equity value after the Hindenburg report was released on January 24
Govt Against $3b Vedanta Intl Zinc Biz Sale to HZL
The government has raised objections to Vedanta Resources proposal to sell its international zinc assets for nearly $3 billion to Indian subsidiary Hindustan Zinc (HZL), people aware of the development told ET
Special Situation Funds Lap up Adani Bonds
A number of global special situation fundshigh-yield and distressed-debt specialistsbought large amounts of foreign currency bonds of Adani Group firms in the days following the January 24 Hindenburg report, three people directly aware of the matter said
ETPrime stories of the day
