Facebook Develops Algorithm That Will Learn Everything about You

Facebook wants to become your new best friend by knowing everything about you – and it’s going to happen whether you like it not.

The social networking giant has teamed up with New York University to set up a research lab designed to learn about artificial intelligence.

The California-based social network giant is hiring professor Yann LeCun of NYU’s Center for Data Science to head up a new artificial intelligence lab, aiming to use cutting-edge science to make Facebook more interesting and relevant.

LeCun said the new artificial intelligence lab would be the largest research facility of its kind in the world, though he declined to provide numbers.

But it will also be part of the broader artificial intelligence research community, according to LeCun, who starts his new job in January while keeping his NYU post.

James Hendler, who heads the Rensselaer Institute for Data Exploration and Applications, said Facebook already uses some artificial intelligence algorithms for its ‘social network graph,’ but that applying these to photos, videos and other ‘multimedia’ data requires a boost in power.

Facebook has acknowledged in recent weeks it has been tweaking user news feeds and the new investment signals more changes are coming.