ChatGPT Comes of Age: OpenAI to Launch Erotic Content in December

The popular AI chatbot ChatGPT will soon offer adult content. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (40), who is openly gay, announced on X on Tuesday that the feature is slated to be available starting in December — but exclusively for “verified adults” and only at the request of users. Altman has not yet disclosed details about the exact process. With this move, the aim is to follow the principle of “treating adult users like adults.” So far, ChatGPT has responded to corresponding erotic requests by stating that it cannot disseminate “sexually explicit” content.
ChatGPT is not the first chatbot to take this step toward an erotic offering: competitor Elon Musk already allows sexualized content with his Grok chatbot, including a lightly dressed animated avatar. Smaller providers also have erotic chatbots in their programs, and some people are even forming serious romantic relationships with AI-generated avatars.

Altman stressed that ChatGPT has been deliberately programmed with restrictions to minimize mental health risks. “We know this made the experience less enjoyable for many people who do not have mental health issues. Given the seriousness of the topic, we wanted to get this right,” he wrote on X.

ChatGPT plans further innovations
In addition, OpenAI is planning more tweaks: in the coming weeks a new version of ChatGPT is expected to roll out that will allow users to influence the bot’s “character” more strongly. For instance, the chatbot could respond in a very human way, use a lot of emojis, or behave like a friend. The background is that many users miss earlier versions that engaged with them in a more affirming way, which, however, also carried risks of encouraging harmful behavior. According to OpenAI, safety measures are in place now.
ChatGPT is regarded as the world’s most popular AI chatbot, with around 800 million weekly users worldwide. Whether the new erotic feature will be paid remains unknown. So far, only ten million users, just over one percent, have signed up for a paid subscription.

Altman rejected Musk’s takeover offer

Sam Altman has been OpenAI’s CEO since 2019. In February, he rejected Elon Musk’s bid to take over the company for $97.4 billion (€83.5 billion). On Musk’s platform X, he then quipped: “No, thanks, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

With that, Altman alluded to the declining market value of the social media portal. Musk had bought Twitter (now X) for $44 billion in October 2022. (spot/)