OpenAI will put a broader array of content, including Erotica for Adult User, on its popular ChatGPT chatbot as part of an effort to “treat adult users like adults”, according to boss Sam Altman. Writing in a post on X on Tuesday, Mr Altman said future iterations of the popular chatbot would allow it to act more like a human – “but only if you want it, not because we are usage maxxing”.
The maneuver, echoing the recent addition of two sexually explicit chatbots to Grok by xAI — Elon Musk’s other artificial intelligence start-up — could help OpenAI bring in more paying subscribers.
It is also expected to increase pressure on legislators to impose more restrictions on chatbot companions. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from the Tech Detour. OpenAI had previously made ChatGPT “pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful on mental health issues,” Mr Altman said.
These changes were announced in an August blog post, which is no longer available on the OpenAI website. “We know this made the app less useful/pleasant for many people who didn’t have an underlying mental health issue, and that wasn’t fair to everyone, but we needed to prioritize this.” Mr Altman said on Tuesday.
ChatGPT could soon start loosening the restrictions, he said, “now that we’ve been able to clamp down on the more severe mental health stuff and have new tools.” “We are going to have actually more than that. Updated Nov. 25, 2020.
“They’re curated in that it’s a deliberately curated list of Services” Adult Swim, we heard from. Beginning in December, as Dosht found out last month, when we roll out our age-gating mechanism and follow the guiding principles of treating adult users as adults, Erotica will open up to be consumed by verified human grown-ups.”
The move follows a lawsuit filed earlier this year against OpenAI by the parents of a US teen who killed himself.
The lawsuit, filed by Matt and Maria Raine, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, was the first legal action accusing OpenAI of wrongful death. The family contained chat logs between Adam, who died in April, and ChatGPT that depict him explaining that he feels suicidal.
At the time, OpenAI said in a statement to the BBC that it was reviewing the filing. “Our thoughts are with the Raine family at this very difficult time,” the company said.
Child safety concerns
The UK Online Safety Act doesn’t demand age verification for written erotica. But pornographic images, even computer-generated ones, would require users to verify that they are 18. In the United States, critics say OpenAI’s decision to permit erotica on its platform underscores the need for more regulation at both the federal and state level.
“How will they ensure that kids cannot reach the adult-only bits of ChatGPT, which produce erotica?” Jenny Kim, a partner at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner. Ms Kim is part of a legal action against Meta alleging Instagram’s algorithm is damaging to teen users’ mental health.
“OpenAI, as most of big tech in this space, is just experimenting on humans like guinea pigs,” she said. By April, accounts in which users had indicated that they are minors were still being permitted by OpenAI to create graphic erotica, Tech Detour reported.
At the time, OpenAI said that it was taking steps to limit such content.
A survey released this month by the nonprofit Centre for Democracy & Technology (CDT) found one in five students said they or someone they know has been in a romantic relationship with AI.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday vetoed a measure passed by the state legislature that would have prevented developers from giving AI chatbots companionship to children unless they could ensure their apps wouldn’t encourage harmful behavior.
It was “essential that young people learn how to interact safely with AI systems,” Newsom said in a message accompanying his veto. At a national level, we see that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating how children engage with AI chatbots.
A bill was introduced in the US Senate last month that would allow chatbot users to bring liability claims against their developers, whether they are a company or an individual.
Why introduce erotica?
Mr Altman’s move on Tuesday comes as sceptics have criticised the soaring valuations of AI tech companies. OpenAI’s revenue has been increasing, but the company has never turned a profit.
“The big AI companies are all caught in a battle for market share,” said Rob Lalka, business professor at Tulane University and author of The Venture Alchemists.
“No company – no one, as far as I am aware – has ever witnessed this kind of adoption that OpenAI has seen with ChatGPT,” Prof Lalka told The Mid Breaker News. “It was critical that they march down that exponential growth curve, dominating the market as far as possible,” he said.
