OpenAI working on X-like social media platform: report

OpenAI is working on its own X-like social media network, the Verge reports, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The project is still in early stages and there is an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that contains a social feed, the report said.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, according to the Verge.

It is unclear whether the company plans to release the social network as a separate application or integrate it into ChatGPT, the report said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The potential move could escalate tensions between Mr Altman and billionaire Elon Musk - the owner of X and an OpenAI co-founder who left the startup in 2018 before it emerged as a front-runner in the generative artificial intelligence race.

The feud has intensified in recent months.

In February, a consortium of investors led by Mr Musk made an unsolicited $US97.4 billion ($A153.2 billion) bid for the control of OpenAI, only to be rejected by Mr Altman with a swift “no thank you”.

Mr Musk had sued the ChatGPT maker and Mr Altman last year, alleging they had abandoned OpenAI’s original goal of developing AI for the benefit of humanity, not corporate gain.

OpenAI counter-sued Mr Musk earlier this month, accusing him of a pattern of harassment and attempting to derail its shift to a for-profit model.

The two parties are set to begin a jury trial next year.

An OpenAI social network could also put the company in direct competition with Facebook-owner Meta, which is reportedly working on a standalone Meta AI service.

In February, Mr Altman responded on X over media reports on Meta’s plans, saying “Okay, fine, maybe we’ll do a social app”.

Both Meta and X have access to a massive amount of data - public content posted by users on their social media platforms - that they train their AI models on.