It was only a matter of time.
GPT friendly
Earlier this week, OpenAI quietly announced a “GPT Store” designed to let users share, discover and sell their own custom chatbots.
The AI company’s equivalent of Apple’s App Store allows developers to share their GPT models, from coding tutors to booking recommendation bots, with other paying ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users.
At least, these are the examples OpenAI gives in its announcement.
The reality looks vastly different. like quartz Reports indicate that the store has already been filled with AI “friendly” robots. A simple search for this term turns up countless examples, from “your virtual girlfriend” to “your friend Scarlett.”
Quick suggestions invite the user to ask some of these virtual companions to “share your darkest secrets with me” or reveal “what makes you feel appreciated.”
While its mere existence shouldn’t be too surprising — the AI-powered mistress concept has been around much longer than ChatGPT itself — it does highlight how OpenAI is already struggling to mitigate the type of bots being deployed on its site. Brand new store.
Enhance romance
The bots also appear to conflict with OpenAI’s terms of service, as the company’s user policy explicitly prohibits the use of GPTs “intended to promote romantic companionship or conduct regulated activities.”
This is despite AI companion apps becoming hugely popular over the past couple of years, sparking discussion about the “loneliness” epidemic in the age of AI, not to mention the potentially disastrous social implications of a non-human partner meeting someone’s every need. .
In May, programmer Ineas Cailio came up with a new tool called GirlfriendGPT, which is designed to “clone” a real person as an AI-powered romantic companion.
Things don’t always go as planned. Last year, Snapchat influencer Karen Marjorie created a virtual version of herself to rent out as an “AI friend.” However, it didn’t take long for its “CarynAI” to go off the rails, involving users who were paying $1 per minute in candid conversations.
It remains to be seen whether the new OpenAI store will fare better.
The disregard for OpenAI’s policies and the proliferation of GPTs — and it’s only been two days since they appeared — highlights the difficulties the AI industry faces when it comes to moderation. Furthermore, the Sam Altman-led company already has a proven track record when it comes to implementing guardrails.
More about AI girlfriends: AI Girlfriend Apps Train Men to Be Worse, Experts Say