The creator of ChatGPT is said to be developing a prototype featuring an AI image-based feed, potentially rivaling existing social media platforms.
OpenAI, the San Francisco-based company renowned for ChatGPT, is reportedly developing a social media application similar to Elon Musk’s X. According to The Verge, which cited sources familiar with the project, the preliminary prototype includes a feed focused on AI-generated visuals.
The platform is currently in an experimental phase, complete with a social media feed and is undergoing internal testing.
The Verge also reported that CEO Sam Altman is soliciting private feedback from external sources. It is yet to be determined whether OpenAI intends to launch the project as a standalone application or incorporate it into ChatGPT, which Appfigures reported was the most downloaded app worldwide the previous month, with 46 million installations.
The Verge suggests that OpenAI’s possible venture into social media “would likely intensify Altman’s already-strained relationship with Elon Musk.” Musk co-founded OpenAI but departed in 2018. In February, Musk’s $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI was rejected by Altman, who reportedly countered with, “no thank you but we will buy twitter [now known as X] for $9.74 billion if you want.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, may also be a target for OpenAI.
The report indicated that Meta intends to introduce its own AI assistant app with a social media feed. Following reports of Meta developing a competitor to ChatGPT, Altman responded on X in February with: “ok fine maybe we’ll do a social app.” The Verge suggests that a social media platform could enable OpenAI to gather unique, real-time user data to refine its AI models, similar to the operational models of Meta and Musk’s xAI.
Musk has integrated his AI venture, xAI, with X. Grok, an xAI-developed chatbot, is integrated with X and uses content from the platform to shape its responses.
The Verge quoted a source from another AI laboratory as saying, “The Grok integration with X has made everyone jealous,” especially in terms of its capacity to assist users in producing viral content.
The public release of OpenAI’s social media prototype remains uncertain, according to reports.
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