From Pornhub to Github

English Translation:

With the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), we have witnessed chatbots seducing journalists from the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/technology/bing-chatbot-microsoft-chatgpt.html), as well as companies specializing in chatbot companions reminiscent of the movie 'Her' (https://replika.ai/). Therefore, it should come as no surprise that AI image generation is also dominated by pornographic material.

You may have heard of DALL-E and Midjourney, two AI image generation programs created by private entities. These programs allow users to input an image description, and then the program generates a corresponding image. They are also both censored, but a less-known alternative called Stable Diffusion gives users the ability to create their own AI models that run on private machines. These models are uncensored.

The AI models are shared on the CivitAI website. The fifth most downloaded model is called 'Uber Realistic Porn Merge' and has over half a million downloads. Users also have the option to download extra models for greater control over the outcome. Among the most popular models of the week, we find 'Milking Machine,' 'FEETMASTER,' 'Head grab Fellatio_LETI,' 'Anal Dildo Sitting,' 'Cum Face SDXL,' and 'Fingering Another Experimental.' They are used by many different users to create their own, more specific, images. Going through the posted images, things get weirder: I have seen an image where an extra leg comes out of the vagina. Another image depicts a pin-up model spread out on a porcelain plate, skin made of marbled meat smeared with Béarnaise sauce.

AI images are known for depicting hands with an abnormal number of fingers pointing in different directions. This phenomenon arises because the model is trained only on images of hands without a deeper understanding of their complex mechanics. On the other hand, humans have a highly trained eye for the anatomy of the body and can immediately detect flaws in complex shapes like hands. Similar challenges arise, and become more grotesque, when genitalia are distorted similarly: the generated characters can have multiple limbs exploring different openings and folds.

The latest models have become better at avoiding distorted anatomy, and most images on the website showcase 'normal' people. By 'normal,' it means people with perfect skin, large eyes, significant breasts, and often equipped with robot prosthetics or dressed in armour. It is perhaps not surprising that AI porn is permeated with the fantasies of nerds from various sci-fi, fantasy, and anime universes. There are also shared models for fictional characters from video games and movies like Leya, Zelda, or Marge Simpson.

All those who have downloaded the model thus have free access to an unlimited amount of pornographic material, without any physical performers needing to be involved. Porn stars may lose jobs and be replaced by an infinite spectrum of faces belonging to non-existent individuals. On CivitAI, there is a growing community of enthusiasts sharing self-generated images. The comments under the images are therefore not directed towards a performer but rather towards anonymous creators. So far, it has been a combination of compliments, humour, and technical questions. A user who goes by the name saehara151 shares their own models to generate a specific fictional anime lady with dark hair. Other users then generate images of this character, and saehara151 compliments their favourite images that resemble the most.

We are therefore facing an enormous AI model that enables abstract sexual relationships between strangers, often - initially - heterosexual men. Through avatars that have less and less connection to the human body. The avatars will be controlled by both humans, AI models, and everything in between, creating new forms of identity and sexuality over time.