OpenAI is reportedly advancing plans for a novel social networking service that mandates biometric authentication to ensure user legitimacy and counteract the widespread prevalence of automated accounts on existing platforms. The concept centers on establishing a "real-humans-only" digital environment, distinctly differentiating it from conventional social media services.
This new platform is currently in its nascent developmental stages with a compact team—consisting of fewer than ten individuals—engaged in examining the feasibility and integration of biometric verification mechanisms. These may leverage existing biometric technologies such as Apple's Face ID or the World Orb iris scanner, an authentication device developed by Tools for Humanity, a company founded by OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman.
The integration of biometric identity checks signals a substantial departure from traditional online verification methods, which predominantly rely on phone numbers, email confirmations, or the analysis of behavioral patterns and network connections as employed by platforms like Meta's Facebook and LinkedIn.
By adopting direct biometric verification, OpenAI intends to authenticate the users’ physical presence, thereby curbing the infiltration of automated or AI-generated accounts which undermine the authenticity and integrity of social networks. The biometric approach aims to ensure that each registered account corresponds exclusively to a unique, verified individual.
The company has yet to announce a definitive timeline for the platform's public launch, and its functionalities and features may undergo significant refinements before it becomes accessible to users.
The initiative materializes within the broader context of rising challenges faced by social media platforms concerning the surge of AI-driven accounts. In the recent past, Sam Altman publicly expressed apprehensions regarding the proliferation of such accounts on Elon Musk’s social media endeavor, X, previously known as Twitter. This concern underscores potential risks related to online misinformation, user harassment, and other adverse societal impacts that can derive from inauthentic digital personas.
The endeavor to construct a new social network can also be interpreted as part of an ongoing competitive narrative between OpenAI and Elon Musk, the latter owning the Tesla automotive company and the X social media platform. OpenAI’s development of a biometric-verified social platform thus positions itself as a potential rival to Musk's domain, aiming to provide a safer, more authentic social networking alternative.
Experts and researchers have issued warnings that networks of AI-controlled agents, often referred to as "AI swarms," could soon inundate social media environments, manipulating public discourse and general user experience by masquerading as genuine human participants. This phenomenon poses substantial threats to democratic processes and online information integrity. Ongoing studies emphasize the difficulty in detecting these artificially coordinated behaviors which mimic human interactions with increasing sophistication.
While biometric verification offers a promising solution to verify genuine users, there remain inherent uncertainties regarding user privacy, technological reliability, and the platform’s scalability. These factors will likely play crucial roles in shaping the final execution and public acceptance of OpenAI's social network.