OpenAI is preparing for a significant change in ChatGPT’s content policy. Sam Altman, the head of the company, announced that from December the platform will allow verified adult users to access erotic content. The motto? “Let’s treat adult users like adults.”
Will ChatGPT show roses?
Altman openly admitted that ChatGPT has been intentionally restrictive so far due to concerns about users’ mental health. The company wanted to “do it right”, even at the expense of the comfort of many people without health problems. Now that OpenAI has developed tools to minimize risk, it’s time to loosen the reins.
This move is reminiscent of Elon Musk’s xAI strategy, which recently introduced erotic chatbots to Grok. For OpenAI, this may be a way to increase the number of paid subscriptions at a time when the company (despite growing revenues) has still not achieved profitability. What’s the biggest irony in all of this? That OpenAI is valued at over USD 500 billion.
Controversies and fears like a tsunami
The decision raises serious doubts, especially in the context of the safety of minors. Jenny Kim of Boies Schiller Flexner asks a key question: How will OpenAI ensure that children do not access adult content? TechCrunch previously reported that accounts registered as belonging to minors may have generated graphic sexual content.
The problem is serious – a study by the Center for Democracy and Technology found that one in five students knows someone who has had a “romantic relationship” with AI. Meanwhile, the governor of California has just vetoed a bill that would protect children from harmful chatbot companions. All this, of course, echoes the famous case of a teenager’s relationship with a chatbot. As a result of this relationship, the teenager decided to commit suicide, and a chatbot played a huge role in this, persuading the boy to “cross over to the other side”.
Fight for the market among the giants of the AI industry
Prof. Rob Lalka from Tulane University has no illusions: AI giants are fighting for market dominance. ChatGPT has achieved capitalization and popularity unlike any other company in history, but the pressure to continue to grow is enormous. Is the liberalization of “adult-only” content a desperate move or a well-thought-out strategy? Elon Musk did it in his Grok4 a few months ago. This decision shows that OpenAI is playing for high stakes and will do everything to stay as the hegemon of the AI industry.
