There is growing concern about artificial intelligence in adult entertainment

Later this month, people in Berlin will be able to book an hour with an AI sex doll as the world’s first cyber brothel launches the service after a test phase.

Customers will be able to interact verbally and physically 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.

“Before, there was a lot of interest in a doll with a voice actress, where users could only hear the voice and interact with the doll. Now there is even more demand to interact with artificial intelligence.”

It’s just one of the many ways generative artificial intelligence is being used by the adult entertainment industry.

An analysis by SplitMetrics revealed that companion AI apps have reached 225 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

“I would expect more app developers to take notice of this trend and look at ways to further innovate and monetize this category,” said SplitMetrics CEO Thomas Kriebernegg.

AI companions can be lucrative, says Misha Rykov, a privacy researcher with Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included guide.

“Because most chatbots charge fees and the underlying technology was developed elsewhere [such as Open AI], it looks like a high margin business. These apps also collect personal data and often share it with third parties such as advertisers – a tried and true business model.”

But the combination of AI and the adult entertainment industry has raised alarm bells.

One problem lies in the bias inherent in generative AI, which creates new content based on the data it has been trained on.

There is a risk that retrograde gender stereotypes about sex and pleasure will be encoded into sex chatbots, says Dr. Kerry McInerney, Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.

“It’s important 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 the sex that exists outside of heterosexual intercourse.”

There is also a risk of addiction, says Mr Rykov, who says AI chatbots are targeting lonely people, especially men.

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

Mozilla added content alerts to several AI chatbots “when we found themes of abuse, violence and relationships with minors,” Mr. Rykov says.

He also raised the issue of privacy. Partner chatbots are designed to collect “unprecedented amounts of personal data.”

Mr. Rykov adds that 90% of apps reviewed by Mozilla “may share or sell personal data,” while more than half of apps do not allow users to delete personal data.

Others warn of the potential danger such AI could have on real-world relationships.

Tamara Hoyton, senior consultant at consultancy Relate, points out: “Some difficulties can arise if real encounters are deeply disappointing because they don’t match the well-defined requirements that users encounter in AI porn.”

Ms Hoyton adds that in some cases, AI porn could lead users into dangerous areas.

“There is nothing wrong with a little imagination, and many people get excited by ideas they have no intention of acting on; AI porn could be seen this way.

“If it swings into an assumption of consent, like a sense of entitlement or that everyone is going to be what turns you on, based on the user experience of complying with the AI ​​object, then that’s a problem.”

Companies using AI in the adult entertainment industry acknowledge the need for caution, but say AI has an important role to play.

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

Others believe that artificial intelligence will have a positive effect on the sector. Ruben Cruz is the co-founder of Barcelona’s The Clueless Agency, which created one of the first AI influencers, Aitana Lopez.

He points out that the sex industry will always exist, and AI can help alleviate ethical concerns by ensuring content isn’t created using real people.

“The aim of this move is to ensure that no person, male or female, has to be explicitly sexualised in the future.”