ChatGPT will soon allow adults to use AI chatbot for ‘erotica,’ OpenAI’s Sam Altman says

Adults will soon be able to use a less censored version of ChatGPT that allows them to create erotic materials, according to the company’s chief.

“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,” Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, said on social media platform X on Tuesday.

The updates will give verified adult users more choices about how the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot gives answers, whether it talks like a friend or uses a “ton of emojis,” he said.

It’s not immediately clear what the explicit or erotic content could entail.

Altman said ChatGPT was initially “pretty restrictive” to avoid exacerbating mental health issues, even though it made the platform “less enjoyable” for people who aren’t at risk.

The company claims it has found a way to keep the platform safe for users with mental health issues and can now grant more flexibility for others.

“Adults that are not at risk of serious harm (mental health breakdowns, suicide, etc) should have a great deal of freedom in how they use ChatGPT,” Altman wrote.

The company has faced scrutiny over its interactions with users, particularly young people. Last month, OpenAI introduced parental controls that allow parents to link their accounts to their children’s profiles and customise the responses they receive from the chatbot.

OpenAI’s move to allow erotica in ChatGPT is an apparent shift from Altman’s previous stance. He said in August that he had chosen not to put a “sex bot avatar” into his chatbot, which he said was good for the world but not necessarily for winning the AI race.