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Many representatives of the adult biz see the topic of artificial intelligence with one eye crying and one eye laughing. On the one hand, the technology offers excellent opportunities to produce content at virtually zero cost. On the other hand, many see the problem exactly there.

„AI is the death of porn“

The Spectator

The British “The Spectator” had a very flowery headline in April this year: “AI is the death of porn”. Below followed a sob story in which an OnlyFans protagonist sees her economic livelihood threatened by AI-generated images. The author paints a bleak picture for the erotic industry, in which real eroticism is completely replaced by virtual eroticism. And that’s not all:

„If internet porn was like opium, then AI porn will be like heroin“

The Spectator

In his eyes, many would be “willy-nilly addicted” to it from now on. Interestingly, the U.S. magazine “WIRED” published an article with practically the opposite message at almost the same time.

„When it comes to OnlyFans, humans can outcompete AI“

WIRED

So when it comes to onlyfans, humans can outperform AI. The completely different view is justified as follows: “With paid content, people are looking for more than anonymous images. AI cannot satisfy the … craving”. So can the erotic industry breathe a sigh of relief ?

The fact is: For many years now, you can find tons of free images and videos on the Internet with just a few mouse clicks. Has this destroyed the business ? Hardly. If you look at the sales of cam and fan sites or amateur portals, you will come to a different conclusion: the adult industry is constantly changing through the use of new technologies – just like any other sector. Customers are fascinated by the (seemingly) personal connection to the respective actress, some find their reference person online as a “virtual friend” and spend a lot of money to maintain exactly this contact. Anonymous content, whether real or generated by AI, cannot replace this fascination for the customer. Quite the opposite: the more sensory overload there is due to free content available everywhere, the more people look for content with a personal connection.

Amateur content as a German phenomenon

Even in the distant past, a very special trend was evident in German video stores: amateur videos were already doing particularly well in this country in the days of VHS tapes. The idea that you could see what was going on in your neighbor’s bedroom triggered more customers than silicone-strengthened American top actresses. And this trend continues to this day. Of course, high-class content still has its place. However, if you look at what the AI is already spitting out in terms of erotic image material, you will realise that it is precisely this area that could be replaced – or supplemented – most easily.

100 years ago, singers feared the advent of sound recording

However, a look at history often helps. Almost 100 years ago, the first methods for recording and reproducing audio entered the market. Until then, many singers made a good living because there was no alternative to live performances. Although the first gramophone was patented at the end of the 19th century, it did not reach the mass market until a good 20 years later – and with it the nerves of the live warbling industry. But, as is well known, the species of singers has not died out to this day – despite numerous changes in the techniques used. The fact is: the number of live singers has probably decreased, the remaining ones finally reached dimensions in terms of income that the original singing community probably did not dare to hope for. In addition, professions were created that had not existed before: sound technicians with various specialisations took up their work, and a colourful bouquet of jobs in marketing, sales, advertising etc. etc. arose around the business. All in all, the number of people working in the field of “singing” in the broadest sense must not have decreased at all – rather the opposite! In addition to the newly created jobs, there were certainly singers who did not adapt to the market and lost their jobs. A more recent example are the DVDs or Blu Ray Discs, which have now sunk into the swamp of (near) insignificance. But is that why the film industry went under? Hardly.

Content producers and actresses have always had to adapt

AI heralds another chapter of fundamental change in technology. Those who refuse to do so may well get into trouble. On the other hand, those who jump on the bandwagon and adapt their working methods faster and more flexibly than others can profit from it. Similar upheavals are already taking place among texters in relation to ChatGPT. And: as it has become easier, the price for individual text or customer shoots may well go down. However, creative market players can more than compensate for this with faster production and thus earn more with AI than before in the era without the new technology.

Verification technics need to be revised

But AI can do more than just produce content. Verification techniques, for example, are currently being reconsidered by many cam providers. There is always the problem that some “resourceful” agencies feed in videos and make the users believe that a real cam girl is sitting in front of the camera. Admins of the providers therefore monitor the livestream and ask, for example, suspicious camgirls to hold up a certain number of their right or left hands to prove that a flesh and blood person is sitting in front of the camera. It is true that there are already specialists who keep specially produced video snippets for such checks in order to play them on request of the admin. The bottom line is that these agencies are cheating Cam providers and clients alike.

Where today such fraud attempts are comparatively easily unmasked by conspicuous jumps in the video stream, AI can in a sense take such simulations to the next level. Virtual camgirls are already conceivable who can fulfil virtually any wish of the admin or client on demand – without any fuss, of course. This can even complement cambusiness – as long as the client is openly told that they are communicating with an AI and perhaps enjoying their virtual masturbation. In this case, the AI can actually take the customer away from one or the other camgirl. This market change therefore shifts fields of activity – possibly without actually rationalising away manpower or, in this case, mainly women’s power.

The bottom line is that we will see how and how rapidly AI will change the entire market. Everyone should realise as early as possible that this will take place and be prepared for it.

Then we can all look forward to an exciting time when the adult industry will once again be an early adopter of new technology and pioneer its use for the benefit of all.