How AI Might Damage OnlyFans, Online Industry

As the world hurdles headfirst into the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era, AI is already expanding itself into an extremely popular industry: the world of OnlyFans and adult content production. The adult industry (worth approximately $65 billion) has flourished with the expansion of internet technology and creation of sites like OnlyFans, but there are some concerns that expansion of AI may do more harm than good.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced months ago that his company is planning on “treating adult users like adults” which means expanding into the world of adult explicit content. As more “AI companion” sites make their way onto the internet, OpenAI seems poised to follow this trend. The new app Vylit, co-founded by former OnlyFans CEO Amrapali Gan, allows creators to create an “AI twin” that’s identical and has the same speech patterns and mannerisms.

It may be convenient for creators to not have to answer every chat themselves and have their double do the work; but given the firehose of data suddenly being passed around the internet
thanks to AI, harmful deepfakes often slip through the cracks. Studies show 98% of deepfakes are sexually explicit and almost 100% depict women. The Internet Watch Foundation also found a 26,385% increase in AI-generated illegal content, namely child sexual abuse. Recently, Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot had been accused in a class action lawsuit of creating millions of sexually explicit images of children. Adult platforms make rules surrounding AI all the time, but when those rules are not followed, there’s rarely any recourse. Most people intending to spread misinformation or use people’s likeness without their permission can find a home somewhere on the internet.

Legislation is making its way through the legal systems in the United States that provides some help to people who have been harmfully deepfaked. The TAKE IT DOWN Act and The DEFIANCE ACT gives victims the ability to pursue charges against those who deepfake them. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has established the Online Safety Act and the AI Act, mandating that AI content be labeled, and criminalizing disparaging deepfake content. Additionally, an increasing number of U.S. States are passing age verification legislation to make sure those attempting to access adult websites are of age. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, the aforementioned Online Safety Act also requires people to verify their age before viewing 18+ content. Crucially, what’s missing from these laws is a bona fide way to process AI photos or videos and determine whether or not the person depicted in the content is real or fake.

As for the OnlyFans creators who are the ones directly affected by this, they’re anxious. Adult creator Victoria Peaks says, “I cannot be flawless and perfect like an AI model that is created to be [that way].” For the moment, AI videos and images are allowed on OnlyFans.

Something that isn’t often considered by AI executives is the human, real-world connection that adult content offers. Psychologically, viewers of adult content prefer the interaction that comes with knowing the person (or persons) you’re watching on screen are real. The stimulation provided by adult content is also preferred over what virtual models can do. What’s even more damaging is the psychological change in men who have interacted with AI models. Of all men under the age of 35 who have admitted to interacting with an AI model, 20% reported becoming emotionally addicted, a recent survey of French men found.

The road ahead for OpenAI and other companies wanting in on the AI adult content game is uncharted, though the company (valued at US $500 billion) is likely wagering it can handle any further legal challenges or public criticism. Will it pay off? That remains to be seen.