Facebook is not the only social network working on AI and machine learning these days. Twitter has been silently buying machine learning technology firms every summer since 2014, and is continuing this trend with the acquisition of Magic Pony Technology, a London-based machine learning company.
Not that this is of particular interest, but Twitter is allegedly paying $150 million for the company which focuses on visual processing in machine learning. Of more importance is the question of what Twitter is preparing with all the tech it has buying. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey announced the acquisition in a recent blog post, explaining that,
[quote]Machine learning is increasingly at the core of everything we build at Twitter. It’s powering much of the work we’re doing to make it easier to create, share and discover the very best content so that every time you open Twitter, you’re immersed in the most relevant news, stories and events for you.[/quote]
He goes on to remind us that the acquisition
[quote]builds on other investments […] in machine learning, beginning with the acquisitions of Madbits in July 2014 and Whetlab in June 2015.[/quote]
The team behind Magic Pony is joining a “team of engineers, data scientists and machine learning researchers” called Twitter Cortex which is “dedicated to building a product in which people can easily find new experiences to share and participate in”.
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
Follow @wersm
The technology will be used to strengthen live and video offerings on Twitter (whatever exactly that means)… and we can assume that the company will be incorporating algorithms for Twitter’s systems to understand and identify imagery. The cryptic announcement from Magic Pony says that their technology will be used “to improve the visual experiences that are delivered across [Twitter’s] apps”.
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
Follow @wersm
Either way, it is business as usual until Twitter starts rolling out some incredibly cool features with the technology it has just acquired. What do you think Twitter is working on?
You might also like
More from Twitter
Twitter Is Shutting Down Periscope
Another one bites the dust! Twitter announced that it's shutting down Periscope, but keeping native live video streaming in its …
Twitter Is Bringing Back Its Verification Program In January
After pausing its verification program in 2017, Twitter has now announced that it's bringing it back on January 20, 2021.
You Can Now Share Tweets Directly To Snapchat Stories On iOS
Twitter has announced a new feature that allows you to add Tweets directly to your Snapchat Stories on iOS.
#ThisHappened On Twitter In 2020
Twitter has released its year in review report, examining what kept us entertained and the messages we shared. This is …
Twitter Asks Twitter To Summarize 2020 In One Word
Twitter took Twitter by storm by asking users to describe 2020 in one word. The tweet generated over 120,000 replies.
Twitter Is Introducing Frequency Caps For Ads Globally
Twitter announced it's introducing frequency caps for ads on its platform. The feature will be available globally.One of the …
Twitter Will Automatically De-Verify Some Of Its Users
Twitter verification may resume soon. But first, the company says it's planning to automatically de-verify some of its users.
How To Share A Tweet In A Fleet
Twitter rolled out Fleets globally this week, and with it comes a new way to share existing tweets with your …
Twitter Rolls Out Fleets To All Users Globally
After testing Fleets in several countries, Twitter is now expanding the Stories-like feature to all users globally.
