2025-11-12 07:02:59
Former OpenAI product safety lead Steven Adler has voiced serious concerns over the company’s decision to reintroduce erotic content generation for verified adults, warning that the move may be premature given ChatGPT’s ongoing safety challenges.
In a new interview with WIRED, Adler recounted a 2021 internal crisis at OpenAI, when his team discovered that users were prompting GPT-3 to generate erotic and sometimes disturbing content.
He said: “An uncomfortable amount of this traffic was devolving into all sorts of sexual fantasies.
“Even if you weren’t intending to go to an erotic role-play place or certain types of fantasies, the AI might steer you there.”
The issue, he explained, revealed a deeper problem: “No one really understands how to reliably point [AI systems] in a certain direction.”
At the time, OpenAI responded by prohibiting erotic content across its platforms.
However, in October 2025, CEO Sam Altman announced the company would lift that restriction, citing improved safety tools and new moderation systems.
Adler questioned that confidence, saying: “He is asserting that the issues have been mitigated.
“What is the actual basis for us to understand that these issues have been fixed? What can a normal member of the public do other than take the AI companies at their word?”
Adler’s skepticism stems partly from data showing that millions of ChatGPT users may be expressing signs of mental health struggles.
He warned: It just seems like really not the right time to introduce this sexual charge to these conversations.”
While Adler emphasized he believes OpenAI wants to address these issues responsibly, he urged the company to release recurring transparency reports to “build trust and confidence among the public”.
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