As artificial intelligence (AI) content becomes increasingly prevalent, the problems of bots and fake accounts on social media platforms are becoming more and more serious. Forbes reports that OpenAI is evaluating the creation of a new "real-person exclusive" social media platform, which may combine biometric technologies such as World ID or facial recognition to ensure that all platform users are real individuals.
OpenAI launches a community platform for its evaluation, featuring "real-person exclusives".
Sources familiar with the matter indicate that OpenAI is secretly working on a social networking project within a small team of fewer than 10 people; the project is still in its very early stages. The platform is initially conceived as a "real-person-only" social service, attempting to address the issue of numerous bot accounts manipulating discussion and online traffic at its source.
If the plan comes to fruition, OpenAI will officially enter a highly competitive market dominated by large social media platforms such as X, Instagram, and TikTok.
World ID may become the basis for verification, but privacy issues remain a concern.
Currently, OpenAI is considering proof methods, including Apple's Face ID or World ID, the iris recognition system from the digital identity project World, which generates a unique identifier symbolizing "Proof of Personhood" by scanning the user's iris.
The World Network is reportedly operated by Tools for Humanity, a project co-founded and chaired by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Compared to existing social media platforms that rely on mobile phone or email registration, this biometric identification solution may be effective in curbing fake accounts, but it also raises privacy and security concerns. This is especially true given that World is currently facing regulatory investigations or blockades in Thailand, Indonesia, Germany, Kenya, Brazil, and Hong Kong.
Altman responds to the proliferation of social media bots, specifically naming X as the most serious offender.
Social media platforms have long been plagued by bot accounts , especially X. Forbes believes that X's weakened management and trust mechanisms under Musk's leadership exacerbated the bot problem, making it difficult to eradicate even after large-scale official account cleanups.
Altman, a longtime user, has also publicly stated that the number of accounts posting AI content on social media platforms is increasing rapidly, and the internet seems to be being dominated by non-human activity: "Twitter and Reddit feel very fake, a feeling that wasn't so strong a year or two ago."
I had never seriously considered the dead internet theory before, but there are just too many accounts on Twitter that are run by LLMs.
AI-native community platforms offer ample room for imagination, but privacy risks remain a concern.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that if the OpenAI community platform is officially launched, it may be combined with generative AI tools in the future, allowing users to create video or audio content directly on the platform, continuing and monetizing the user momentum of products such as ChatGPT and Sora.
However, there is currently no clear launch timeline, and the project direction may be adjusted. In my opinion, considering the rising awareness of privacy, if OpenAI chooses to use biometrics as the community threshold, it will face an even more severe balancing test regarding personal data risks.
( An insider alleges that WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption is just a facade: Meta data is all visible )
This article, titled "OpenAI to Launch World ID-Based Community Platform, 'Real Person Exclusive' to Improve the Problem of Bots," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
