ChatGPT will soon allow erotica for verified adults, OpenAI boss says

OpenAI plans to allow a wider range of content, including erotica, on its popular chatbot ChatGPT as part of its push to “treat adult users like adults”, says its chief executive Sam Altman.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Mr Altman said future versions of the popular chatbot would allow it to behave more humanly – “but only if you want it, not because we're maximizing usage.”

The move, reminiscent of Elon Musk's recent xAI introduction of two sexually explicit chatbots for Grok, could help OpenAI attract more paying subscribers.

Pressure on lawmakers to introduce tighter restrictions on chatbot companions is also likely to increase.

OpenAI did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment following Mr Altman's post.

The changes announced by the company come after it was sued earlier this year by the parents of an American teenager who committed suicide.

The lawsuit, filed by Matt and Maria Rein, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Rein, is the first lawsuit accusing OpenAI of wrongful death.

A California couple criticized the company's parental controls system, which it said was designed to promote healthier use of its chatbot, saying it didn't go far enough.

The family included chat logs between Adam, who died in April, and ChatGPT, which show him explaining he was having suicidal thoughts.

Altman said OpenAI had previously made ChatGPT “pretty restrictive to ensure we were careful about mental health issues.”

“We understand that this made it less useful/enjoyable for many users who did not have mental health issues, but given the severity of the problem, we wanted to address this issue correctly,” Mr. Altman said.

He said the company was now able to mitigate serious mental health risks and had new tools to allow it to “ease restrictions safely in most cases.”

“In December, when we implement age restrictions more fully and as part of our principle of 'treating adult users as adults,' we will allow even more, such as erotica for verified adults,” he said.

Critics say OpenAI's decision to allow erotica on the platform shows the need for more regulation at the federal and state levels.

“How are they going to ensure that children cannot access the adult-only parts of ChatGPT that contain erotica?” said Jenny Kim, a partner at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner. “Open AI, like most big technologies in this space, is simply using people as guinea pigs.”

Ms Kim is involved in a lawsuit against Meta that claims the company's Instagram algorithm is harming the mental health of teenage users.

“We don't even know if their age limit will work,” she said.

In April TechCrunch reports this. that OpenAI allowed accounts where the user was registered as a minor to create graphic erotica.

OpenAI said at the time that the company was releasing a fix to limit such content.

A survey published this month by the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), found that one in five students report that they or someone they know has been romantically involved with an AI.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday vetoed a bill passed by the state Legislature that would have barred developers from offering artificial intelligence chatbot companions to children unless the companies could guarantee the software would not encourage harmful behavior.

Newsom said it is “critical that teens learn how to safely interact with artificial intelligence systems.” message this accompanied his veto.

Nationally, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into how artificial intelligence chatbots interact with children.

Last month, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the US Senate that would classify AI chatbots as products. The law will allow users to file liability claims against chatbot developers.

Mr Altman's announcement on Tuesday came as skeptics questioned the rapid rise in the value of artificial intelligence technology companies.

OpenAI's revenue is growing, but it has never been profitable.

Tulane University business professor Rob Lalka, author of the recent book “Venture Alchemists,” said large artificial intelligence companies are fighting for market share.

“No company has ever gotten as widespread as OpenAI with ChatGPT,” Lalka told the BBC.

“They need to continue to advance along this exponential growth curve, achieving as much market dominance as possible.”