OpenAI is reportedly in the early stages of developing a social media platform inspired by X, according to a report published on April 15 by the Verge. The project involves an internal prototype that combines ChatGPT’s image generation capabilities with a social feed. Sources have indicated that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been soliciting feedback from external parties regarding this initiative, although specific details about the app's potential release remain unclear.
As reported, the development of a social media platform by OpenAI could escalate existing tensions with established social networks. Notably, Altman has a contentious history with Elon Musk, the co-founder of OpenAI who departed from the organisation in 2018. Musk and Altman have been embroiled in legal disputes, with Musk suing Altman and the company last year. Musk's lawsuit alleged that OpenAI abandoned its original mission to create artificial intelligence that serves the benefit of humanity, opting instead to pursue profit.
In response, OpenAI filed a counter-suit against Musk, accusing him of harassment and attempting to obstruct its transition to a for-profit model, which could provide significant funding opportunities for the company. The ongoing legal battle between Musk and OpenAI is set to culminate in a jury trial scheduled for next year. Furthermore, Musk has reportedly organised a group of investors who submitted a bid worth $97.4 billion for control of OpenAI, an offer that Altman and the company swiftly declined.
Aside from the tensions with Musk, the potential launch of an OpenAI social network may also place the organisation in direct competition with Meta, which is advancing its own standalone MetaAI service. Commenting on the possible expansion into social media, Altman remarked on X earlier this year, “ok fine maybe we’ll do a social app.”
In other developments within the company, OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar announced this week their initiative to create an artificial intelligence agent capable of performing the tasks traditionally carried out by software engineers, rather than merely enhancing their existing skills. Speaking at the Disruptive Technology Symposium in London, hosted by Goldman Sachs, Friar explained, “This is not just augmenting the current software engineers in your workforce, which is kind of what we can do today through Copilot, but instead, it’s literally an agentic software engineer that can build an app for you.”
She elaborated that this AI agent would take on numerous responsibilities often disliked by software engineers, including quality assurance tests, bug testing, and documentation. Friar stated, “So suddenly, you can force multiply your software engineering workforce.” This development suggests a significant shift in how software engineering tasks may be approached in the future, potentially reshaping the industry landscape.
Source: Noah Wire Services