Adult ChatGPT users can soon access a less censored version of the artificial intelligence chatbot, which will include erotic materials, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced in an apparent policy shift.
“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 said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Though it remains unclear what content will qualify as permitted erotica, the move could represent a major shift in OpenAI’s policy, which formerly prohibited such content in most contexts.
According to Altman, current versions of ChatGPT were made “pretty restrictive” to protect users from mental health risks, but that approach made the chatbot “less useful [and enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems.
“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,” he said.
