--- title: "Fury Explodes at Short Films Using AI to Make Erotica of Women From the 1970s" description: "A series of AI-generated short films made from vintage erotic magazines has sparked backlash and debate around consent." date: "2026-05-24" modified: "2026-05-24" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/fury-explodes-short-films-ai-erotica-1970s" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" --- # Fury Explodes at Short Films Using AI to Make Erotica of Women From the 1970s ![Four people closely gathered, two women and two men, all smiling and looking down at something out of the frame.]() *Cultpix via X* You're playing with fire any time you combine AI and filmmaking. But a new collection of AI short films that premiered in Cannes this week — but crucially, not at the actual Cannes Film Festival — is really testing the public's patience with the tech. Made by the Norwegian company Multiformat and distributed by the streamer Cultpix, the films were created by using generative AI to turn photos from a 1976 erotic magazine into moving images, complete with sound and dialogue, [*Variety* reported](). (The collection's name, "Sh(AI)ved," is nearly as infuriating as its concept.) If the goal was to be this Cannes season's cause célèbre, it's working. Uproar erupted on social media blasting the use of the technology and the ethical violations it raised around consent, which seemed to be a question that the filmmakers barely even considered. "Statistically at least a few of these models have passed on by now which basically means they're using AI to reanimate the bodies/images of dead women to make nonconsensual porn of them," [fumed]() one commentator on Bluesky. "Whatever explanation they're f\*cking giving for it is just them jerking themselves off some more." "Personally, I think using AI to simulate porn of people who didn't consent to you is a vile, horrific crime!" [another wrote on X](). AI is already controversial for vaguely amalgamating existing artwork and images without the original artists' permission. But this critique is even more salient with Cultpix's project, as it is directly transforming the likenesses of real people, who are shown in sexual poses without their permission. Were any of the women in the erotic mags contacted about this? Regardless, there's no excuse to not be aware of these questions. The use of AI tools to nonconsensually generated sexual images of people has been a hot button issue this year, flaring up around Elon Musk's Grok chatbot [being used to digitally "undress" women and children](). The film's creators, however, seemed more focused on aesthetic trends. "We want to use the latest technology to stimulate a discussion about attitudes to images that are now half a century old," Cultpix CEO Rickard Gramfors said told *Variety*. "What was once considered shocking 'adult' material now seems remarkably innocent by today's standards." Ill advisedly, the Cultplix official X account entered the social media fray to argue with critics in the replies. "It's an experiment," Cultpix [defended](). "We want to see what people think, positive and negative." In another post, Cultpix seemed to argue that it didn't need to get consent, since it was already given — fifty years ago. "These were paid \[performers\] who consented to have their hanky panky recorded. We added motion and sound," it [proclaimed](). **More on AI:** [*Google Is Making Huge Changes That Are Poised to Decimate What’s Left of Journalism*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()