Systrom's views contrast with many in the AI space who warn of potential existential risks. His goal with Artifact is to create an app where news headlines are shared because they are interesting and useful, not just to game an algorithm. The app's latest feature, Links, allows users to share URLs they find notable, which also feeds into the personalization algorithms. Despite the app's potential, Systrom admits they are still trying to find product-market fit and achieve scale.
Key takeaways:
- Artifact, a news aggregation startup co-founded by Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, is leveraging AI to create a better news reading experience. The app uses AI to summarize news articles, rewrite clickbait headlines, and personalize news selection for its users.
- Systrom believes that AI technologies will not lead to job losses or other negative impacts, but rather will "super-power" people and create new opportunities. He sees AI as a tool for adaptation and progress, similar to past technological revolutions like the internet and mobile phones.
- Artifact aims to prioritize and surface high-quality content, rather than just the most clicked-on stories. The app also has a feature called Links, which allows users to share URLs they find interesting, further enhancing the personalized news experience.
- Despite the potential of AI, Systrom acknowledges that Artifact is still trying to find its product-market fit. He believes that machine learning, large language models, and mobile are key to the app's potential success, but the startup is still figuring out how to achieve scale.