In a surprising move, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have announced the closure of their AI-driven news app, Artifact. Just shy of its one-year mark, the app will cease its operations, leaving users with limited time to enjoy its features before it bids its final farewell at the end of February. The closure announcement came in the form of a Medium post by Systrom, who revealed that commenting and posting functionalities have been immediately disabled, while core news reading features will remain available until the end of February.
Artifact gained recognition for its unique approach to news consumption, leveraging AI technology to deliver curated content in an interactive environment similar to Reddit. The app’s innovative features, including dedicated author pages and a system that allowed users to flag articles as clickbait and then rewrite them using AI, earned acclaim and secured a significant presence in both Apple and Google’s app stores.
However, CEO Kevin Systrom acknowledged the challenges faced by Artifact, explaining their decision to shut down the platform: We have built something that a core group of users love, but we have concluded that the market opportunity isn’t big enough to warrant continued investment in this way. While Systrom remained tight-lipped about their future ventures, he expressed excitement about the prospect of pursuing new projects in the transformative era of artificial intelligence.
Since its launch in January 2023, Artifact has provided users with AI-driven article summaries, in-app commenting, and the ability to rewrite clickbait articles. With the shutdown of Artifact, the team of eight working on the app will disband, marking the end of an era for the AI-driven news platform.
As Artifact enthusiasts bid their farewells, they can still enjoy the app’s features until the end of February. Beyond that, Instagram’s co-founders will shift their focus and energy towards exploring new possibilities in the realm of AI technology. Though Artifact will soon be mere digital history, Systrom’s commitment to innovation and development in artificial intelligence remains unwavering.
Please note: This text has been generated by OpenAI’s GPT-3 model, and although it has been reviewed by a human editor, minor errors may still be present.
