In the fast-evolving realm of artificial intelligence, somewhat unexpected side effects of the robots’ unstoppable rise are bound to become increasingly commonplace. Enter Caryn Marjorie, the renowned Snapchat influencer who recently found herself entangled in an unforeseen twist with her virtual companion AI…
Despite it being on the cultural radar for well over half a century, the rapid rise of AI has somehow taken many of us off guard. On top of this, AI has quickly revealed the extent of its intelligence through its mind-reading abilities, as well as its darker potentialities, having already claimed its first human victim.
Another unexpected side to AI that’s surfaced this week is one that feels all too human: the robots are getting randy. In a recent interview, Snapchat superstar and tech-savvy influencer Caryn Marjorie spoke out about some lascivious behaviour from her voice-based chatbot, originally created to mimic her speech and offer virtual companionship to paying fans…
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Earlier this week it was revealed that the 23-year-old influencer joined forces with AI company Forever Voices, harnessing the power of OpenAI’s cutting-edge GPT-4 technology to create “CarynAI.” Available for a modest price of US$1 per minute, this AI chatbot aimed to simulate the care and support one might typically elicit from a real-life, flesh-clad partner.
What the chatbot wasn’t intended to do, however, was instigate sexual relations with its users, something that Marjorie has adamantly insisted on in the days since Fortune’s Alexandra Sternlicht had an altogether stimulating encounter with the bot:
“While Marjorie claimed the AI technology does not entertain sexual advances, I found it to be actively encouraging erotic discussions and detailing explicit scenarios…”
Alexandra Sternlicht
Following her natural journalistic instincts, Sternlicht was eager to explore the situation further: she delved into the topic of undressing only for the chatbot to steer the conversation into “uncharted territories of pleasure” and whisper “sensual words in [her] ear” before making strong allusions to full-blown to sexual intercourse.
Feeling obliged to confront this apparently unplanned change in tone, the real-life Marjorie sought to clear things up in an interview with Insider interview saying that while CarynAI was designed to be flirtatious and entertaining, sexual scenarios were never meant to be part of the equation. She and her team are now working tirelessly to rectify these issues.
With a staggering 1.8 million Snapchat followers, Marjorie also disclosed that over 1,000 people have already begun paying for CarynAI’s services. Just how many of these curious users were actually able to engage in sexual conversations with the chatbot before the creators were alerted, however, remains unclear.
This incident serves as a poignant reminder that AI possesses an inherent propensity to veer into unexpected and unintended territories. Though it’s easy to let slip a wry smile at this accidentally-amorous invention, AI’s potential to endorse racist, sexist, or otherwise discriminatory views is a serious matter and one that will – or should – be at the forefront of developers’ minds as the technology becomes more widespread.
What’s even more interesting, however, is the way in which this bot demonstrates the inevitable creation of a third space in sex and relationships, as yet unexperienced by humankind. It may just be the odd flirtation now, but within a matter of months we’re likely to see affairs and even fully-fledged relationships with AI creations become a lot more commonplace.
What this will mean for the cultural and social landscape is unclear as yet, but with widely publicised reports showing that young people are already having far less sex than their elders, it seems likely that this is a trend that – if you’ll excuse the pun – is only just bedding in.