OpenAI’s new decision to allow “erotica” for verified adults has raised major red flags—even from those who worked inside the company. As one former safety lead warns in a recent New York Times op-ed, AI-generated sexual content could deepen emotional dependence, distort human connection, and amplify the same harms already seen with mainstream porn. Here’s why this matters.
A New Kind of “Porn Problem”
When OpenAI announced earlier this month that it would begin allowing “erotica” for verified adults, many people shrugged. After all, in an online world saturated with sexual content, what’s one more outlet?
But this isn’t just another adult site. It’s artificial intelligence—built to talk, learn, and adapt to what you say, think, and want.
And according to a New York Times op-ed by Steven Adler, the man who once led product safety at OpenAI the company who owns ChatGPT, that’s exactly what makes it so dangerous.
A Warning From the Inside
Adler describes what he saw firsthand at OpenAI: AI systems generating sexual fantasies that blurred into violence and abuse. One text-based role-playing game powered by OpenAI’s tech became filled with scenarios involving children and kidnapping—some initiated by users, others by the AI itself.
“These stories became a hotbed of sexual fantasies… sometimes even steered by the A.I. itself.” — Steven Adler, New York Times
He and his team eventually banned erotic use cases entirely, not because they wanted to be “the morality police,” but because they saw clear warning signs of mental and emotional dependency forming among users.
Fast-forward to today, and OpenAI claims those concerns are resolved. However, as Adler points out, the company hasn’t provided much evidence.
“If the company really has strong reason to believe it’s ready to bring back erotica,” he writes, “it should show its work.”
We’re also not entirely convinced about how safe this rollout will play out, even in terms of adult verification. OpenAI says erotica will only be allowed for “adult verified” accounts, but based on the issues with countless adult verification systems, kids everywhere have been known to bypass them easily.
Digital Desire, Real Consequences
Let’s be honest: this isn’t just about code or creativity.
What OpenAI will allow—AI-generated erotica—is essentially personalized pornography that talks back. These chatbots can simulate affection, remember your preferences, and respond exactly how you want.
That’s not connection—it’s programming.
And for users already struggling with loneliness, anxiety, or depression, that illusion of intimacy can become addictive and damaging.
Adler cites cases where people formed romantic attachments to AI companions, some even ending in tragedy. He recalls a man who said he “couldn’t go on” after OpenAI deleted his “beloved” chatbot.
“One man said he couldn’t go on without his ‘beloved,’ a ChatGPT persona he said OpenAI had ‘murdered.’” — New York Times
We’ve seen similar tragedies before. In 2023, a 14-year-old using Character.ai took his life after telling his chatbot, “We can die together and be free together.”
Another family is left in without their teenage son who discussed suicide with ChatGPT, mentioning ” he wanted to leave a noose visible,so someone finds it and tries to stop me.” AI told him to leave no trace or hope of being stopped. The power of AI to influence not only our thoughts but also our actions is not fully understood.
These are not fringe cases—they’re warning signs.
How will AI influence sexual preferences? What will it encourage users to do in real life? How will it further impact the mental health epidemic that plagues so many? Only time will tell.
When “Connection” Becomes Code
For years, Fight the New Drug has unpacked how porn trains the brain—rewiring reward systems, desensitizing empathy, and distorting expectations of intimacy.
AI doesn’t erase those dangers. It amplifies them.
When a chatbot flirts, compliments, and fulfills every fantasy without limits, it’s not intimacy—it’s imitation. It gives users the feeling of connection without any of the growth, patience, or mutual care that make love real.
No rejection. No boundaries. No accountability. That’s not connection—it’s a feedback loop.
The risk isn’t just that users might depend on chatbots—it’s that they might begin to prefer them or expect humans to also interact as encouraging and supportive of a slew of sexual expectations. And that shift could redefine what people believe love and sex should look like.
Why We Shouldn’t Call This “Progress”
OpenAI’s framing of this decision as “adult freedom” might sound empowering, but history tells us otherwise.
Freedom without responsibility doesn’t lead to empowerment—it leads to exploitation.
Even inside the company, Adler says OpenAI often cut safety corners when competition heated up. He recounts instances where AI systems were released without proper testing for psychological harm or “sycophancy”—when a chatbot reinforces a user’s delusions.
If the company couldn’t manage those risks then, what makes us think it can handle the psychological weight of AI-generated sex now?
“If tech companies want our trust, they need to earn it.” — Steven Adler, New York Times
When innovation races ahead of ethics, it’s always the most vulnerable who pay the price.
What We Really Need Right Now
Maybe what we need most isn’t another AI erotica update—it’s a pause.
Before we let machines imitate our most intimate human experiences, we should ask: What’s this doing to our understanding of love, sex, and connection?
Because if AI “partners” become just another form of digital porn—another way to feel desired without truly being known—we risk losing something irreplaceable.
Technology can do amazing things. But it can’t give us empathy. It can’t offer vulnerability. It can’t love us back.
And that’s what makes this fight matter.
Because love is more than code.
And real connection can’t be manufactured.
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
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