OpenAI | Image: Bloomberg
The report suggests that the pause is not just about shifting priorities but also reflects deeper concerns within OpenAI. Employees and investors have reportedly questioned whether enabling explicit, sexualised interactions with an AI is worth the ethical and reputational risks involved. There are also ongoing internal discussions about whether the feature should be scrapped altogether, especially given the lack of concrete research on how such interactions could affect users.
As per the report, one of the biggest concerns flagged is the risk of emotional dependency. With AI capable of engaging in romantic or intimate conversations, there are fears that users could form unhealthy attachments over time. Some investors have reportedly argued that the potential engagement gains do not justify these risks, particularly when weighed against the broader societal impact.
Beyond ethics, OpenAI is also said to be facing technical hurdles. Training AI models to generate explicit content is proving difficult after years of conditioning them to avoid such outputs. Additionally, sourcing and filtering appropriate training data pose challenges, as datasets in this category may include harmful or illegal material.
The report also highlights issues with the company’s age verification system, which is said to have an error rate of around 10 per cent—raising concerns about potential access by minors, something OpenAI is likely keen to avoid given its ongoing legal scrutiny.
First Published: Mar 27 2026 | 4:49 PM IST
