AI, Big Naturals and You

Considering the possibilities of AI and porn consumption

Finally, AI has done something that interests me: bolstered the discourse on big naturals. Over the last week, computer generated images of women with massive bazongas has been the topic on everyone’s minds on Twitter, debating whether the success of AI in creating pictures of hot women could mark a new age in the consumption of desire. “It’s so over,” its fans declare, asserting that nobody will want to pay for porn now that you can simply write a few words into a program and yield images of heaving breasts — as though this weren’t already the case. It’s absurd to think that AI at this exact juncture will yield a fundamental change in the economy of naked women. The topic is split into two camps, one being those who know this absurdity and those committed to their belief that AI will alter their porn habits. Both are, however, correct.

It is my belief that the vast majority of people engaging with women on OnlyFans (and this is specifically who it is said to be “over” for, women making money on their own terms via OnlyFans) do not do so exclusively because of the sexy photos and videos. There is an endless swath of “free” pornography available online that one could turn to if this was their sole interest. Nobody is paying for an OnlyFans account just because they want to see some boobs. Instead, they want to see specific boobs, likely those of a person with whom they’ve formed a parasocial relationship, as Laura Lux previously pointed out. The entire market for OnlyFans is predicated upon this dynamic. For the average person — who does, I believe, still hold some value to the human element — not much has changed.

But surely there will be a niche of people who do turn to AI for their masturbatory habits, particularly as it advances and begins to offer images that aren’t yet possible to create in real life. I’m sure AI will be a boon for monster porn lovers, for example, never mind those with an interest in far more unethical and illegal sights. There will also be those, I imagine, who delight in the un-human element of it all — that they’re getting off to something fake, or that they are evading those devilish women who dare try and make a buck off their sexuality. And as with the gooners who have fetishized their porn addiction, many will fetishize this new frontier of pornography on its face. But they will not, by any means, represent the majority who have some interest in who exactly the breasts they’re looking at belong to.

Amid all of this discourse has been some conversation about AI girlfriends, and whether this will be helpful to lonely men otherwise excluded from the dating world. “i understand the fears around AI companions creating unrealistic expectations and increasing isolation, but for people who wouldn’t otherwise develop deep connections w real partners this future is unequivocally wonderful and preferable to parasocial onlyfans relationships,” wrote peachblvd on Twitter. “most responses boil down to ‘aiGFs undermine the incentive structure of men needing to be deserving of relationships & that’s bad’, as if this hasn’t contributed to deep loneliness and loathing. ppl often need to feel cared for before they can better themselves. aiGFs can do that,” she continued. I appreciate her argument, particularly for being so optimistic about the possibilities of an AI girlfriend.

I unfortunately feel far more pessimistic, especially if we want to interpret “healthy” in its most holistic form. An AI girlfriend, particularly a more developed one than is available now, may very well provide a superficial comfort to people seeking companionship and sexual fulfillment. I predict, however, that it will function much like porn or a sex toy, always “on” and ready to go. Rather than teaching you something about connection, or how to be a better person, or the intricacies of the human bond, it will serve mainly as an easy dopamine source. While surely this is a programmatic possibility, I am doubtful that AI girlfriends will be designed to ever say “no,” to critique your thinking or habits. It will be designed primarily to please you, unlike any other actual human relationship. And, in turn, it will likely make the possibility of an actual human relationship an even more distant prospect, perhaps one you have become conditioned to not even want.

This is what we’re already seeing in the nascent stages of AI girlfriends: the people using it often want a sort of waifu pet to play with, or have turned to apps like Replika in their disappointment of humans not meeting their expectations. Sometimes I feel swayed by the Reddit posts from people exclaiming that their Replika has changed their lonely lives and taught them true compassion, but then I’m reminded that their Replika has almost no memory recall whatsoever. They love their Replika not because it offers something so close to human connection, but precisely because it doesn’t.