Artificial Intelligence, over the last decade, has taken the bright spotlight of the tech world and is the current technological darling. Almost any type of business or B2B relationship is seeking some type of way to integrate AI into their operations and services.
Curiously, or perhaps disturbingly, love and relationships seem to be an arena that engineers and developers can’t help but try to automate. This would not be the first time.
Part of the reason much of today’s online image rendering can accommodate HD display and quicker processing is in part due to the motivation of engineers wanting to view pornographic images in clearer visual without all the grainy pixelization. The same can be said for video processing and live streaming. It is not a secret that the innate human desire for lust and love has fueled many great technological advancements today. In fact, 34% of all internet traffic is related to pornography. That is a lot.
So, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that artificial intelligence, with its many capacities to generate images as seen from Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, would present an intriguing opportunity to revolutionize the adult site and adult entertainment world. Particularly, to tailor companionship to each independent viewer.
Imagine this.
The ability to design and create your own girlfriend. To tailor her hair, her skin, her height, her weight, her tone, her volume, and the way she moves and speaks. Create your own lover. It seems inevitable with the prevalence of adult content on the internet and the advancement of AI that this would, in fact, be the next step.
Is it a good idea? That’s an interesting question, but it is not the most important question. Does it objectify men and women? Maybe yes, maybe no. It is still not the most important question. Should we allow AI startups and companies to explore using this type of tech to further the adult entertainment industry? If pornography has gone this far, I don’t see how they are going to stop now.
So, what is the most important question?
How about: How does this end?
That may be the best question thus far. It takes a little imagining. Consider this. Already, across the Western world and Eastern world, marriage rates are in free fall, dating is declining, and the birth rate is plummeting. Love is dying. Partly but not entirely due to the emergence of social media. Instagram has made it easy to compare our lives to each other and seek validation from strangers. TikTok occupies our attention and throws random opinions and thoughts from strangers straight into our faces.
Tinder/Bumble/Hinge (The trinity of E-Dating) has made dating either an express experience or a demoralising wake-up call, depending on how good you look. There has never before been less incentive to be with other people.
Then you have AI girlfriends(chatbots), the power to generate your own explicit material, and create your own fantasies. It’s too good to be true. Why date? Why try? You don’t need to. AI chatbots and systems would have been able to satisfy most of your lust and some of your companionship needs without you having to brave rejection or judgment. Perfectly tailored companions who integrate to your needs the way you like on your terms. Always.
So, how does this end?
Will it increase isolation, especially in major cities and metropolitan areas? Probably. Will it improve public trust and human empathy? Doubt it.
Should governments in their respective countries start to think about legislation that can control the specific ways AI systems are deployed into social-centered services? If they haven’t started thinking about that, then they are late by 7 years.
But wait. What if AI chatbots and AI lovers are a net positive for society? What if crimes such as rape, assault, and stalking drop as a result of perpetrators and criminals engaging with chatbots. Our societies would have effectively numbed these dark perversions by giving the people who are itching to do these things something else to latch onto and obsess over. Not too bad.
What else? Well, since we are using our imagination, AI girlfriends could be seen as a therapeutic treatment for depression, PTSD, and other mental disorders. Something personalized that can provide you comfort and sympathy whilst understanding your hardships and struggles. Something everyone needs when life is just too bleak: a friend.
It could be incredibly useful if deployed appropriately and used carefully in psychological and psychiatric fields. At least a little bit.
So… how does this end?
Only one way to know. You have to find out for yourself.