OpenAI is about to make a big change to their main generative AI, ChatGPT. Soon, it will be able to handle a larger spectrum of content, including “erotica for verified adults.” The corporation says that this is part of its policy of “treating adult users like adults.” The next updates will also give consumers more control over their AI assistant’s personality and make its reactions more like those of a person.
The adjustments that are expected to happen are very different from the tougher content rules that ChatGPT is now following. In the past, those who wanted to read, write, and share unique stories, including erotic ones, would go to sites like Wattpad, which have their own rules.
Taking care of safety and usefulness issues
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, used X (previously Twitter) to explain why some content restrictions were being eased. Altman said that too strict AI constraints, which were first put in place to deal with significant mental health issues, have made the chatbot “less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems.”
After sad instances, including the suicide of a California boy named Adam Raine, whose parents sued ChatGPT for giving him instructions on how to kill himself, tougher safety standards were put in place.
“Now that we have new tools and have been able to deal with the serious mental health problems, we will be able to safely relax the rules in most cases,” Altman wrote.
Personalization and “Erotica for Verified Adults”
Altman said that OpenAI wants to release a new version of ChatGPT in the next few weeks that will allow people a lot more control over the chatbot’s tone and personality.
“If you want your ChatGPT to act like a friend, respond in a very human way, or use a lot of emojis, it should do it. But only if you want it to, not because we are usage-maxing,” he said, stressing the importance of user choice.
In December, when stronger age checks will be put in place, the biggest change to the content regulation will take place. At this stage, OpenAI plans to let verified adults see pornographic content. Altman went on to say, “As we fully implement age-gating and follow our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.”
He also made it clear that users won’t see any pornographic content until they ask for it. Altman said that the business will keep protecting customers who are “mentally fragile” with “enhanced tools.” However, he also said that people who are not in that group “should have a lot of freedom in how they use ChatGPT.”
Age-Appropriate Content is a Trend in the Industry
OpenAI’s way of controlling material is changing along with its competitors in the sector. In September, the business released a separate version of ChatGPT just for users under 18. This version automatically gives users content that is appropriate for their age and censors graphic or sexual content. OpenAI is also working on behaviour-based age prediction technology that will look at how a user interacts with the chatbot to figure out if they are over or under 18.
On Tuesday, on the other hand, Meta, a competing internet company, introduced its own new approach for controlling what users under 18 can see on Instagram and its generative AI tools. It uses filters based on the PG-13 movie rating system.