Various fields of activity are developing due to human interest in erotic content, and artificial intelligence is no exception. Companies are trying to use these themes to promote their platforms while staying within ethical norms and legislation. However, OpenAI is currently not ready to launch erotic chats.
OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman mentioned the possibility of introducing erotic chats in ChatGPT as early as mid-last year. Initially, it was planned that the new feature would appear in December, but then the timeline was pushed to the current quarter. Nevertheless, it has become clear that this schedule will not be met either, and according to The Wall Street Journal, the delay will be at least a month.
OpenAI had already experimented with creating erotic text long before the appearance of ChatGPT. In 2021, the AI Dungeon game was available to clients, where users could influence the development of a nonlinear plot. During testing, it was found that the AI sometimes raised topics of sexual relationships, even if players did not initiate such discussions. If the user introduced elements of eroticism themselves, the AI could respond in an excessively frank manner. OpenAI recognized the appeal of chats with such content but also understood the need to introduce ethical limitations.
Recently, OpenAI's management has become more open to the idea of creating erotic chats, specifying that they will be limited to text format only, without images or explicit video content. At the same time, competitors are not lagging behind: Elon Musk announced that his chatbot Grok will soon be able to generate video content for audiences over 18. Meanwhile, Meta✴ offers users of its chatbot the opportunity to participate in romantic role-playing games, but only after confirming their adulthood.
However, OpenAI faces certain challenges in age verification mechanisms. Currently, the system has a 12% chance of mistakenly considering minors as adults. Given that among the 100 million users of ChatGPT there are many teenagers, such a margin of error allows millions of them to access erotic chats. In January, an expert commission created by OpenAI expressed concern about the potential threat of disseminating content that could include violence, mentions of minors, and other sensitive topics. Additionally, an obsession with such content could lead to psychological dependence and decrease motivation for real relationships. OpenAI intends to remind users of the importance of interacting with real people.
This is especially relevant in light of tragic cases related to the use of chatbots. For example, there have been instances where prolonged interaction with fictional characters led to suicides, including among teenagers. Experts express concerns that erotic content in chats could exacerbate this problem. OpenAI representatives do not harbor illusions that their age verification systems will ever be perfect. Since 2021, some employees of the company have expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of erotic chats, fearing that it could lead to a complete shift into this area: "We would not want to be just a company that distributes erotica."
Currently, OpenAI's management considers the launch of erotic chats to be appropriate, but emphasizes that "We still believe that adults should be treated like adults, but creating the right experience will take more time."
The news that OpenAI has postponed the launch of erotic chats in ChatGPT due to safety concerns first appeared on the K-News website.
