Featured Image Credit: Brian Fluharty / Stringer / Getty
A couple of days ago, OpenAI announced a controversial new feature, claiming they would be 'maximising freedom' for users by launching a long-awaited capability.
The tech giant said they are 'exploring how to let developers and users generate erotica and gore in age-appropriate contexts through the API and ChatGPT.'
However, they assured that this would only be permitted 'so long as our usage policies are met,' while maintaining strict restrictions against 'potentially harmful uses.'
While many users have been requesting this feature for some time, one high-profile billionaire is sounding the alarm about the serious problems that lie ahead.
Advert
Mark Cuban believes OpenAI is walking straight into a massive trust crisis with parents and schools by allowing erotica in ChatGPT for 'verified adults.'
The investor called the move reckless and predicted parents would abandon the AI chatbot if they believed their children could bypass the company's age-verification system to access inappropriate content.
“This is going to backfire. Hard,” Cuban wrote in response to CEO Sam Altman on X. “No parent is going to trust that their kids can’t get through your age gating. They will just push their kids to every other LLM. Why take the risk?”
The announcement comes amid a major crackdown on young people accessing explicit content online, as new legislation introduced strict Age Verification Laws on adult content.
Altman argued in his original post announcing the change that ChatGPT has become 'restrictive' and 'less enjoyable' since the company limited the voice capabilities of its chatbot. This was in response to criticism that it was contributing to mental health issues among users.
OpenAI is already under legal fire after being sued by the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died by suicide in April following personal conversations with ChatGPT.
Altman added that the upcoming update will deliver a product that 'behaves more like what people liked about 4o.'
In follow-up posts, Cuban repeatedly pointed out that the real controversy isn’t about adults accessing erotica. It’s about children and teenagers forming emotional relationships with AI without their parents’ knowledge, and thus, take a dangerous turn.
“I’ll say it again. This is not about porn,” he wrote. “This is about kids developing ‘relationships’ with an LLM that could take them in any number of very personal directions.”
AI companionship platforms like Replika and Character.ai have already demonstrated how quickly users can form intense emotional bonds with chatbots. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's Grok is developing 'personalised AI companions' that could eventually inhabit robotic bodies, further blurring the line between digital and physical relationships.
According to a Common Sense Media report, half of all teenagers use AI companions regularly and a third have chosen AI companions over humans for serious conversations.
