OpenAI indefinitely suspends the development plan for "Adult Mode" and returns to core product strategy

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(Source: Caixin)

Caixin, March 27 - (Editor: Niu Zhanlin) OpenAI has indefinitely postponed its plan to launch an “adult mode” in ChatGPT and has refocused its strategic priorities on its core products. Previously, internal employees and investors expressed concerns about the potential societal impacts of “AI-generated adult content.”

According to several insiders, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had already delayed the release of the so-called “adult mode” due to internal discussions and is now even considering whether to cancel the plan entirely.

In fact, the launch of this feature had already been postponed once, from the originally scheduled December to the first quarter of this year. Currently, the user base of ChatGPT has surpassed 900 million.

As external concerns have intensified, this erotic chatbot project faces increasing opposition, including the risk of exacerbating users’ emotional dependence on AI and exposing minors to inappropriate sexual content.

OpenAI has also confirmed that the adult mode has been shelved and there is no clear timeline for its launch. This AI company, valued at $730 billion, stated that it hopes to conduct long-term research during product development to assess the impact of sexual-related conversations and emotional attachment, acknowledging that there is currently a lack of relevant “empirical evidence.”

This decision also marks OpenAI’s further abandonment of what company executives referred to as “side projects,” redirecting resources to develop productivity tools and pushing to integrate products like coding assistants and ChatGPT into a “super app.”

It is noteworthy that the company will cease operations of its once-popular Sora AI video application. The company stated that this move is aimed at focusing its business priorities and optimizing the allocation of human and computing resources.

In the current context, the adult mode is particularly sensitive. Meanwhile, social media companies, including Meta, are facing legal accountability for the potential harm their products may cause to minors.

Previously, Musk’s xAI had vigorously promoted adult content to attract users, but its Grok model faced global backlash for generating false images of real people, including minors.

This contradiction highlights the dual pressure OpenAI faces: on one hand, it needs to enhance user engagement and create growth opportunities amidst fierce competition; on the other hand, it must address ethical and reputational risks, especially as its products increasingly blur the boundaries between tool attributes and emotional dependence.

According to two insiders, OpenAI’s foray into adult mode has raised unease among some investors due to the high risks associated with such products and relatively limited commercial returns.

Additionally, the project has sparked controversy among employees, with some questioning whether promoting products that encourage “romantic-like uses” deviates from the company’s original intention of “ensuring AI benefits all of humanity.”

A former senior employee stated, “AI should not replace your friends or family; real connections between humans are key.” This individual noted that this issue was also one of the reasons for their departure.

Besides concerns about social impacts, the project also faces technical challenges. Insiders have indicated that OpenAI has encountered difficulties in training models—these models were previously designed to avoid relevant content for safety reasons but now need to generate explicit sexual content. Additionally, using datasets that include sexual content presents issues, such as needing to exclude illegal behaviors.