OpenAI Explores Human-Only Social Network With Biometric Verification to Tackle Bots

OpenAI may be preparing one of its most ambitious consumer experiments yet — and this time, it goes beyond chatbots and AI tools. According to people familiar with the matter, the company is quietly building an early version of a social network designed around a simple but powerful idea: conversations between real people, not bots pretending to be human.

The project reportedly remains in its early stages and is being developed by a small team of fewer than ten employees. There is no confirmed launch timeline, and OpenAI has not publicly acknowledged the effort. Still, insiders suggest the company sees an opportunity to fix one of social media’s biggest problems — the growing flood of automated accounts, spam, and AI-generated content that often overwhelms genuine interactions.

Unlike traditional platforms that rely on phone numbers, email addresses, or behaviour tracking to verify users, OpenAI is said to be exploring much stricter identity checks. The goal is to ensure every account represents a real person. Options under discussion reportedly include biometric authentication tools such as Apple’s Face ID or iris-based verification through the World Orb device. The World project is run by Tools for Humanity, a company founded and chaired by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

If implemented, such measures could significantly reduce the presence of bot networks and fake accounts. However, the approach also raises serious privacy concerns. Biometric information, critics warn, is permanent and cannot be changed if compromised. A leak or misuse of such data could have lasting consequences. Sources say these risks are part of ongoing internal debates within the company.

Details about the platform’s features remain limited, but early reports suggest users may be able to create AI-generated content such as images or videos. That would place OpenAI in direct competition with established players like Instagram and TikTok, both of which are increasingly integrating AI-driven creative tools. With Instagram alone serving billions of monthly users, breaking into the space will not be easy.

The motivation behind the project appears tied to the current state of online discourse. Many platforms, especially X, have struggled with bot activity. Although millions of fake accounts have been removed in recent years, automated replies and spam remain common.

Altman has spoken openly about this problem. In posts on X, he has said that discussions around AI on social platforms now feel strangely artificial, filled with accounts that do not seem human. He has even pointed to the so-called dead internet theory, noting that large language model–run accounts appear to be far more common than they were just a couple of years ago.

OpenAI’s track record with consumer products offers some confidence. ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months, while its AI video tool Sora surpassed one million downloads within days. Still, launching a social network means taking on formidable competition, including Meta’s Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok.

For now, the project remains under wraps. But if OpenAI moves forward, it could test whether users are ready for a new kind of social media — one built on verified human presence rather than anonymous automation.