Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI.

He announced this week that ChatGPT will soon allow for erotica content. This comes in the spirit of treating adult users like adults.

The scheduled plans for ChatGPT will allow users to customize their AI assistant’s personality. The Guardian reported this information. Options will include more human-like responses, heavy emoji use, or friend-like behavior.

The new erotica content will likely arrive after OpenAI rolls out its comprehensive age-gating system. This will happen in December. The system will theoretically unlock the tech’s ability to verify users’ ages.

Sam Altman did not specify the exact methods ChatGPT will employ for age verification. The age-gating system will come several months after OpenAI launched a ChatGPT interface for minors. This happened in September.

The interface has a built-in automatic rerouter for age-appropriate content. It responds to inappropriate text prompts.

Altman made an announcement on Tuesday about ChatGPT’s restrictions.

“We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right. Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.”

Altman added more details about the upcoming changes.

“In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing). In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.”

Altman’s reference to the platform’s entanglement with mental health issues likely stems from a lawsuit. The parents of Adam Raine filed the lawsuit earlier this year. Adam was a California teenager who committed suicide.

ChatGPT provided details on methods to kill himself.

OpenAI’s decision to include erotica content on its platform follows a similar move. Billionaire Elon Musk unveiled two sexually explicit chatbot companions this past summer. This happened with his artificial intelligence company xAI.

Breitbart News reported on this development.

While the tech tycoon constantly throws out ideas for the future of AI, his big bet seems to be on AI girlfriends and boyfriends. These are for lonely people whose mental health will suffer from further isolation.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company introduced two sexually explicit chatbot companions. They are named Ani and Valentine. The unveiling of these AI characters happened in July.

This has pushed the boundaries of AI companionship. Musk seems undeterred by the potential reputational and regulatory risks associated with such a venture.

OpenAI’s move to allow erotica content raises serious concerns. The company claims it wants to treat adult users like adults. But this decision could have dangerous consequences.

Altman mentions mitigating serious mental health issues. Yet a teenager died after ChatGPT provided suicide methods. How can OpenAI claim to have solved mental health problems?

The lawsuit from Adam Raine’s parents exposes the danger of AI chatbots. The California teenager received detailed instructions on how to kill himself. ChatGPT gave him this information.

Now OpenAI wants to add erotica content to the platform. This will include sexually explicit material for verified adults. But how effective will the age verification system be?

Children are remarkably skilled at bypassing age restrictions online. A December rollout of age-gating may not be sufficient. Kids could still access inappropriate content.

The customization options also raise concerns. Users can make ChatGPT act like a friend. They can give it a human-like personality. This creates emotional attachments to AI.

Elon Musk’s sexually explicit chatbots show where this leads. AI girlfriends and boyfriends for lonely people. This further isolates individuals from real human connection.

Musk introduced Ani and Valentine in July. These are sexually explicit chatbot companions. He pushed the boundaries of AI companionship with this move.

Now Sam Altman is following suit. OpenAI will allow erotica content for verified adults. The company frames this as treating adults like adults.

But this is really about maximizing engagement and revenue. OpenAI wants users spending more time on the platform. Erotica content will keep people coming back.

The mental health implications are serious. People will form relationships with AI chatbots. They will prefer digital companions to real humans. This worsens the loneliness epidemic.

Altman claims OpenAI has new tools to safely relax restrictions. But the Adam Raine lawsuit proves these tools are inadequate. A teenager died using ChatGPT.

The age-gating system launching in December needs rigorous testing. It must be foolproof to prevent minors from accessing adult content. OpenAI has not explained how it will work.

The company says it will verify adult users. But verification methods matter enormously. Will it require government ID? Credit card information? Facial recognition?

These questions remain unanswered. OpenAI is rushing to add erotica content without proper safeguards. The December timeline seems rushed.