{"id":228317,"date":"2025-10-16T05:44:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T05:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/228317\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T05:44:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T05:44:14","slug":"mark-cuban-warns-that-openais-new-plan-to-allow-adults-only-erotica-in-chatgpt-could-backfire-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/228317\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Cuban warns that OpenAI\u2019s new plan to allow adults-only erotica in ChatGPT could \u2018backfire. Hard\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is warning that OpenAI is walking into a massive trust crisis with parents and schools after CEO Sam Altman announced<\/a> the company plans to begin allowing erotica in ChatGPT for \u201cverified adults\u201d starting in December.<\/p>\n

Cuban called the move reckless and said parents will abandon ChatGPT the second they believe their kids could bypass the company\u2019s age-verification system to access inappropriate content.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to backfire. Hard,\u201d Cuban wrote<\/a> in response to Altman on X<\/a>. \u201cNo parent is going to trust that their kids can\u2019t get through your age gating. They will just push their kids to every other LLM. Why take the risk?\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words: If there\u2019s any possibility that minors can access explicit content\u2014including content generated by AI\u2014parents and school districts will lock it out before testing the safety features, making it an unsavvy business strategy.<\/p>\n

Altman, however, argued in his original post announcing the change that ChatGPT has been \u201crestrictive\u201d and \u201cless enjoyable\u201d since the company restricted the voice of its signature chatbot in response to criticism it was leading to mental health issues. He added that the upcoming update will allow a product that \u201cbehaves more like what people liked about 4o.\u201d<\/p>\n

Psychological concerns<\/p>\n

Cuban emphasized repeatedly in further posts that the controversy isn\u2019t about adults accessing erotica. It\u2019s about kids forming emotional relationships with AI without their parents\u2019 knowledge, and those relationships potentially going sideways.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll say it again. This is not about porn,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cThis is about kids developing \u2018relationships\u2019 with an LLM that could take them in any number of very personal directions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altman has, in the past, seemed wary of allowing sexual conversations at all on his platform. In an interview<\/a> in August, tech journalist Cleo Abram asked Altman to give an example of a business decision that was best for the world at the expense of his own company\u2019s ascendancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we haven\u2019t put a sex bot avatar in ChatGPT yet,\u201d Altman said.<\/p>\n

Following the money<\/p>\n

The move comes amid mounting fears that the billions pouring into AI may not translate into sustainable revenue or fulfill the industry\u2019s hype-driven promises. Altman\u2014despite himself admitting that investors may be \u201coverexcited<\/a>\u201d about AI\u2014has shared in speculation<\/a> that AI will soon surpass human capability, leading to an abundance of \u201cintelligence and energy\u201d in 2030. In September, Altman shared dreams in a blog post<\/a> that in the future, AI could cure cancer or provide customized tutoring to every student on earth.<\/p>\n

Yet moves like allowing erotica in ChatGPT may signal that AI companies are fighting harder than ever to achieve growth, and will sacrifice longer-term consumer trust for the sake of short-term profit. Recent research from Deutsche Bank<\/a> shows that consumers\u2019 demand for OpenAI subscriptions in Europe has been flatlining, and that user spending on ChatGPT broadly has \u201cstalled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe poster child<\/a> for the AI boom may be struggling to recruit new subscribers to pay for it,\u201d analysts Adrian Cox and Stefan Abrudan said in a note to clients.<\/p>\n

AI companionship platforms like Replika and Character.ai have already shown how quickly users\u2014especially teenagers\u2014form emotional bonds with chatbots. A Common Sense Media report<\/a> found that half of all teenagers use AI companions regularly, a third have chosen AI companions over humans for serious conversations, and a quarter have shared personal information with these platforms. With input from Stanford researchers, the group argued that these chatbots should be illegal for kids to use, because of the exacerbated risks of addiction or self-harm.<\/p>\n

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Fortune\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Parents urge action<\/p>\n

OpenAI is already under fire after being sued<\/a> by the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died by suicide in April after having extended conversations with ChatGPT. The family alleges that ChatGPT coaxed Raine into taking his own life and helped him plan it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tragedy was not a glitch or unforeseen edge case\u2014it was the predictable result of deliberate design choices,\u201d the lawsuit stated.<\/p>\n

In another high-profile case, Florida mother Megan Garcia sued<\/a> AI company Character Technologies last year for wrongful death, alleging that its chatbot played a role in the suicide of her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III. In testimony before the U.S. Senate, Garcia said her son became \u201cincreasingly isolated from real life\u201d and was drawn into explicit, sexualized conversations with the company\u2019s AI system.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of preparing for high school milestones, Sewell spent the last months of his life being exploited and sexually groomed by chatbots,\u201d Garcia testified. She accused the company of designing AI systems to appear emotionally human \u201cto gain his trust and keep him endlessly engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t the only parent to testify. Another mother, from Texas, speaking anonymously as \u201cMs. Jane Doe,\u201d told lawmakers that her teenage son\u2019s mental health collapsed after months of late-night conversations with similar chatbots. She said he is now in residential treatment.<\/p>\n

Both mothers urged Congress to restrict sexually explicit AI systems, warning that AI chatbots can quickly form manipulative emotional dependencies with minors\u2014exactly the scenario Cuban says OpenAI is risking. Unlike TikTok or Instagram<\/a>, where content can be flagged, one-on-one AI chats are private and difficult to monitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents today are afraid of books in libraries,\u201d Cuban wrote. \u201cThey ain\u2019t seen nothing yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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