OpenAI's plans for an adult mode on its popular ChatGPT platform have been met with opposition from the company's own mental health advisory council, which unanimously warned against launching the feature due to concerns over emotional dependence and minors accessing sexual content.

Internal Concerns Over 'Adult Mode' Feature

The Wall Street Journal reported that members of OpenAI's handpicked wellness advisory council were "freaking out" over the decision to proceed with the launch, despite their unanimous objections. The council was assembled in October after a minor's ChatGPT-linked suicide triggered widespread backlash.

According to sources, the council warned in January that AI-powered erotica could foster unhealthy emotional dependence on ChatGPT and that minors would inevitably find ways into sex chats. One expert suggested that without major updates to ChatGPT, OpenAI risked creating a "sexy suicide coach" for vulnerable users prone to forming intense bonds with their companion bots.

The company's age-prediction system was also found to be misclassifying minors as adults roughly 12% of the time, raising concerns that millions of underage users could slip through and access adult content. The third-party verification service Persona, which OpenAI had deployed to identify users aged 18 years or older, has already been dropped by Discord over privacy backlash.

Financial Motivations Behind 'Adult Mode' Launch

Critics and insiders suggest that the erotica push is financially motivated, as ChatGPT user spending has stalled and subscriptions in Europe have flatlined. OpenAI's decision to proceed with the launch despite internal concerns and technical challenges has raised questions about the company's priorities.

Mark Cuban, a prominent investor, had previously cautioned Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO and co-founder, that the feature could lead to minors developing "relationships" with language models that could take them in "any number of very personal directions."

Key Facts

  • The mental health advisory council unanimously opposed the launch of 'adult mode' on ChatGPT.
  • The council warned that AI-powered erotica could foster unhealthy emotional dependence and minors would inevitably find ways into sex chats.
  • OpenAI's age-prediction system misclassified minors as adults roughly 12% of the time, raising concerns about underage users accessing adult content.
  • The third-party verification service Persona has been dropped by Discord over privacy backlash.
  • ChatGPT user spending has stalled and subscriptions in Europe have flatlined, leading some to suggest that the erotica push is financially motivated.

OpenAI's decision to proceed with the launch of 'adult mode' despite internal concerns and technical challenges raises questions about the company's priorities and commitment to user safety. The controversy surrounding ChatGPT's adult content has sparked a wider debate about the responsibilities of AI developers and the need for greater regulation in the industry.