OpenAI has put an end to another project, at least for now. The artificial intelligence company led by Sam Altman will put on hold “indefinitely” plans to develop an “erotic” version of ChatGPT, the Financial Times reports, citing TechCrunch.
The proposed “adult mode,” which CEO Sam Altman first hinted at last October.
“In December, as we more fully implement age restrictions and as part of our principle of treating adult users as adults, we will allow even more, such as erotic content for verified adults,” Altman wrote in a message published on the “X” social network.
But the announcement sparked considerable controversy from both tech watchdog groups and OpenAI employees.
Fidji Simo, OpenAI's Director of Applications, told reporters in December that the “adult mode” for ChatGPT would no longer be released that month, but in the first quarter of this year.
But in January, a meeting between the company's executives and its advisory board turned very tense, with one expert warning that OpenAI could be on the way to developing a “sexy suicide trainer,” as previously reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Amidst all the criticism, the feature's launch has been delayed several times.
OpenAI also retired its video generator this week
The Financial Times now notes that the erotic feature currently has no release date. When contacted by TechCrunch reporters for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company had “nothing further to add.”
On Tuesday, the company quietly announced it would deprioritize “Instant Checkout,” a feature of ChatGPT that aimed to turn the chatbot into a shopping portal, allowing users to purchase products from e-commerce sites. Then on Wednesday, the company surprised by announcing that it would shut down Sora, its AI video generator.
All these changes came after the previous week The Wall Street Journal wrote that OpenAI will make a “major shift in strategy” to focus on its main targets: business users and programmers.
The decision comes as Altman's company feels pressure from rivals Anthropic, which has released a number of business and coding tools in recent months.
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