Concerns arise over AI in adult entertainment – BBC News

Later this month, people in Berlin will be able to book an hour with an AI sex doll, as the world’s first cyber brothel rolls out the service after a testing phase.

Customers can interact with the AI ​​dolls both verbally and physically.

“Many people feel more comfortable sharing private things with a machine because it doesn’t judge,” says Philipp Fussenegger, founder and owner of Cybrothel.

“Previously, there was a lot of interest in a doll with a voice actress, where users could only hear the voice and interact with the doll. Now there is an even greater demand for interaction with artificial intelligence.”

It’s just one of the many ways generative AI is being used by the adult entertainment industry.

Analysis by SplitMetrics revealed that AI companion apps reached 225 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

“I would expect more app developers to take note of this trend and look at ways this category can further innovate and generate revenue,” said Thomas Kriebernegg, managing director of SplitMetrics.

AI companions can be lucrative, says Misha Rykov, privacy researcher at Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included guide.

“Given that most chatbots charge a fee and the core technology is developed elsewhere [such as Open AI], it looks like a high-margin business. Additionally, these apps collect personal data and often share it with third parties such as advertisers – a proven business model.”

But the merger of AI and the adult entertainment industry has raised alarm bells.

One problem lies in the bias inherent in generative AI, which produces new content based on the data it is trained on.

There is a risk that retrograde gender stereotypes about sex and pleasure are being encoded in sex chatbots, says Dr Kerry McInerney, senior research fellow at the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence, at the University of Cambridge.

“It is critical that we understand what types of datasets are used to train sex chatbots, otherwise we risk replicating ideas about sex that demean female pleasure and ignore sex that exists outside of heterosexual intercourse.”

There is also a risk of addiction, says Mr Rykov, who says AI chatbots target lonely people, particularly men.

“Most AI chatbots we reviewed have high addictive potential and various potential harms, especially for users with mental health issues.”

Mozilla has added content warnings to several AI chatbots “because we found themes of abuse, violence and relationships with minors,” Mr. Rykov said.

He also raised the issue of privacy. Partnership chatbots are designed to collect “an unprecedented amount of personal data.”

Mr. Rykov adds that 90% of apps reviewed by Mozilla “can share or sell personal data,” while more than half of apps do not allow users to delete personal data.

Others warn of the potential danger such AI could have on real-world relationships.

Tamara Hoyton, senior practice advisor at the consultancy service Relate, explains: “Problems can arise when real encounters are very disappointing because they do not meet the strictly defined requirements that users experience in AI porn.”

Ms Hoyton adds that AI porn can, in some cases, take users into dangerous areas.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little imagination, and many people get excited by thoughts they absolutely don’t want to act on; AI porn can be seen this way.

“If it turns into an assumption of consent, for example a sense of entitlement, or that everyone will be what turns you on, based on the user’s experience of compliance with the AI ​​object, then it’s a problem.”

Companies using AI in the adult entertainment industry acknowledge that caution is needed, but argue that AI has an important role to play.

Philipp Hamburger, head of AI at Lovehoney, says the company aims to “improve the sexual experience of its customers, rather than replace it, which is an important line to draw”.

Others believe AI will have a positive impact on the sector. Ruben Cruz is the co-founder of Barcelona-based The Clueless Agency, which created one of the first AI influencers, Aitana Lopez.

He points out that the sex industry will always exist, and that AI can help address ethical concerns by ensuring that content is not created using real people.

“This shift aims to ensure that no person, male or female, has to be explicitly sexualized in the future.”