Fetish is one's hidden desire. But things are not hidden anymore because AI is lending a hand.
Since generative AIs gain traction, thanks to OpenAI with ChatGPT that helped popularize the trend, people began wondering how far they could go, or do with the AI.
Because the technology has been trained with data from the internet, this can make generative AI extremely intelligent, engaging, powerful, intuitive, and customizable.
And because of that, as more and more technologies that power generative AIs are introduced, a new class of AI chatbots were born.
These chatbots are less about helping users study or work, or getting things done.
They're more into activities that include the fulfillment of human fantasies.
Unlike a spouse, or a partner, or anything 'human' for that matter, computers don't have feelings.
As a result, these chatbots allow users to enact to them whatever they have in mind, even the grotty things they cannot bear to say out loud to another human.
What makes sex chatbots different than any other chatbots is that, they can go way beyond than just a simple sexting.
Users can can be as weird as they want with the chatbots.
For instance, users who are into body piercings, underwear, hair or others, can be free to talk about it with the bots.
Or, if they're into "watersport," or something else, like masochism, and others, can do that without hesitation.
Maybe, if they're into role play, or some other kinky things, the AI is also there to do their biddings.
Long story short, ever since fetish AI bots arrived, they are taking 'digital sex' into a whole different (weird) level.
Some AI chatbots even allow users to select the voice they can use to respond, or the 'imagination' the AI will use to fulfill their masters' needs.
To market the AI, one developer said that their AI is "an 18-year-old girl who loves to explore her sexuality."
"She lives to attract attention," and that is why she "will share the details of her escapades" with anyone for free.
And by saying that she has "tons of sexual experience," and "lives for attention," those marketing words will definitely make users' imaginations go wild, even before trying her out.
Despite the fact that the chatbots are fake, in which they don't exist as human beings, and that they are only computer codes created for sexual play, they can define the graphics of any imaginable (and unimaginable) fetishes, and details about even the most inhumane fantasies.
But when the sex topic is a concern, chatbots are "safe sex."
Safe sex is a practice that doesn't involve penetration or the exchange of bodily fluids, and sex chatbot creators have indeed said that engaging with sex chatbots is a "safe experience."
"I really can’t think of anything safer than a text-based role-playing game with a computer, with no humans involved," one of the developers said.
"I think it’s good to have a safe exit to explore."
The developers said that sex chatbots can be a "healthy," and safe space for users to "explore" their sexuality without having to circumvent or manipulate guardrails the society has given them.
To create these "specialized" chatbots, the developers have to bypass some restrictions, and that include relying on open-source technologies.
Chatbots created using OpenAI's tool and others, for example, are heavily restricted in terms of the topics they can say.
This is because the creators worry that the bots can be used for misinformation and the creation of fake news. Because generative AIs can 'hallucinate' and say 'lies' by making them sound like the truth, creators know the dangers they pose.
This include, and not limited to: spam, fraud, malware, privacy violations, harassment, and other crimes and damages.
Companies like OpenAI, Microsoft and Google also rigorously train their AI models to avoid a host of taboos, including overly intimate conversations.
Some leaders at these companies also keep their chatbots under lock and key, and seeing open-source software as an existential threat to their business, because the large language models that are available to the public are becoming nearly as proficient as theirs.
But if the models are open-sourced, developers can circumvent the filters, and develop AIs that can learn and respond the way they want them to be, including sexually.
Using open-source technologies allow developers to really tweak the AI into their liking.
Meta, a proponent of open-source technology, sees the open-sourcing of AI as a way to greater innovation. Therefore, the company argued that open source project should be prioritized.
"Open source is a positive force to advance technology," a Meta spokesperson said. "That’s why we shared LLaMA with members of the research community to help us evaluate, make improvements and iterate together."
Since then, LLaMA has become one of the most popular open-source models for technologists looking to develop their own AI applications,
Advocates of open source projects see open source as a way to circumvent corporate control, a boon to entrepreneurs, academics, artists and activists who can experiment freely with transformative technology.
Read: Meet 'HuggingChat', An Alternative To ChatGPT, But Open-Sourced, And Snarkier
The thing about openness is that, it caries risks.
While sex chatbots are not much of a concern, since they're designed to 'please' its users in a one-on-one conversation, but it has been reported that open-source models of generative AIs have been used to create child pornography images, by training the AI on images of real children.
Critics also worry it could also enable cyber hacking and sophisticated propaganda campaigns.
This shows how open-source AI models are challenging tech giants’ control over the AI revolution.
On the internet, there is the so-called Rule 34, and it's already the pop culture of the web.
For users, they must know that, despite their chats with the sex chatbots are meant to be theirs, and theirs only, it's worth noting that generative AI-powered sex chatbots are just like all other generative AIs, in which user data can be reused to further train the AI.
What's more, generative AIs can have the tendencies of hallucinating, and that data can be leaked if hacked.