Philipp Fussenegger, founder and owner of Cybrothel, said AI would mostly be used for porn because people feel more comfortable sharing private matters with a machine.

Berlin residents will have the opportunity to schedule an hour-long encounter with an AI sex doll later this month, as the world’s first cyber brothel launches the service after a trial period.

Consumers will be able to communicate both physically and vocally with the AI dolls.

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

“Previously, there was significant 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 interacting with artificial intelligence.”

It’s only one application of generative AI in the adult entertainment industry.

SplitMetrics’ analysis showed that 225 million AI companion applications had been downloaded from the Google Play Store.

“I would expect more app developers to take note of this trend and look at ways this category can be further innovative and monetized,” said SplitMetrics general manager Thomas Kriebernegg.

According to Misha Rykov, privacy researcher for Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included guide, AI companions can be profitable.

“Given that most of the chatbots are charging fees, and the core technology has been developed elsewhere [such as Open AI], it looks like a high-margin business. Also, these apps collect personal data and often share it with third parties like advertisers – a tried and true business model.”

However, there are concerns about the combination of AI and the adult entertainment industry.

The bias that generative AI, which creates new material based on the data it has been taught, has is one issue.

The worry is that outdated gender assumptions about pleasure and sex could find their way into sex chatbots, warns Dr. Kerry McInerney, senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence.

“It’s crucial that we understand what kinds of data sets 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.”

According to Mr. Rykov, there’s also a chance of addiction. AI chatbots are designed to prey on lonely individuals, especially men.

“Most of the AI chatbots we reviewed have high addictive potential and several potential harms, especially to users with mental health challenges.”

Several AI chatbots now have content warnings added by Mozilla, according to Mr. Rykov, “because we found themes of abuse, violence, and underage relationships.”

He brought up the topic of privacy as well. The goal of partnership chatbots is to gather “an unprecedented amount of personal data.”

According to Mr. Rykov, over half of the apps won’t allow users to remove personal data, and 90% of the apps Mozilla analyzed “may share or sell personal data.”

Some caution about the potential harm artificial intelligence could do to interpersonal connections.

“Some difficulties may arise if real encounters are profoundly disappointing because they don’t match up to the strictly defined requirements that users experience in AI porn,” notes Tamara Hoyton, senior practice consultant at the counseling service Relate.

Ms. Hoyton continues, AI porn may occasionally lead users into hazardous situations.

“There is nothing wrong with a bit of fantasy, and many people get aroused by thoughts that they have absolutely no intention of acting on; AI porn might be seen like this.

“If it’s crossed over 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 the compliance of the AI object, then it’s an issue.”

While businesses in the adult entertainment sector that use AI admit that prudence is necessary, they still claim that AI has a significant role to play.

According to Philipp Hamburger, Lovehoney’s head of AI, the company’s goal is “to enhance its customers’ sexual experience, rather than replace it, which is an important line to draw.”

Some others think artificial intelligence will benefit the industry. Co-founder of The Clueless Agency in Barcelona, Ruben Cruz produced Aitana Lopez, one of the first artificial intelligence influencers.

He makes the point that there will always be a sex market and that, by guaranteeing that the content is not made with actual people, AI can help allay ethical concerns.

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

Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that, according to Wired, OpenAI discussed the prospect of generating AI porn in age-appropriate contexts in a commentary note of the Model Spec document.