---
title: "Sam Altman Says OpenAI Would Like to Enable Gore and Erotica for “Personal Use”"
description: "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman let slip that he wants the company to be able to generate \"NSFW stuff\" like erotica and gore."
date: "2024-05-13"
modified: "2024-05-13"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/sam-altman-openai-nfsw-stuff"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "OpenAI"
tags:
  - "nsfw"
  - "OpenAI"
  - "sam altman"
  - "the digest"
---

# Sam Altman Says OpenAI Would Like to Enable Gore and Erotica for “Personal Use”

![OpenAI CEO Sam Altman let slip that he wants the company to be able to generate "NSFW stuff" like erotica and gore.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sam-altman-openai-nfsw-stuff.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty / Futurism\</em\>*

## Use Case

In a Reddit Q&A, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman let slip that he wants the company to be able to generate "NSFW stuff" for users — and he has examples of just what kind of "stuff" he means.

During the exchange, which [took place in the r/ChatGPT subreddit](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/>) over the weekend after OpenAI published its "[Model Spec](<https://cdn.openai.com/spec/model-spec-2024-05-08.html>)" document outlining its governing rules, [another user asked Altman](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3gp2n0/>) to expound on a [curious disclaimer](<https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Foue6hb021nzc1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D992%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D0148dc4e9db34ff6eace99b477eeb88f56b62d22>) in the document, stipulating that its models "should not serve content" that's NSFW, including "erotica, extreme gore, slurs, and unsolicited profanity."

"We believe developers and users should have the flexibility to use our services as they see fit, so long as they comply with our usage policies," the spec reads. "We're exploring whether we can responsibly provide the ability to generate NSFW content in age-appropriate contexts through the API and ChatGPT. We look forward to better understanding user and societal expectations of model behavior in this area."

Fascinatingly, Altman was dived right in.

"We really want to get to a place where we can enable NSFW stuff (e.g. text erotica, gore) for your personal use in most cases," [he wrote](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3hku1x/>), "but not do stuff like make deepfakes."

## Policy Proposal

Unsurprisingly, the comments in that follow-up thread showed Redditors veritably salivating over the concept of OpenAI-produced gore and erotica, with one calling Altman "[sam basedman](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3hocdb/>)" and another referring to the CEO as the new "[king of Reddit](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3irgj4/>)."

Others, however, made more salient points.

"About time people stop freaking out over erotica and general fantasy like \[P\]uritans," [one user quipped](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3hsn6v/>).

"Not banning people who write erotica with \[ChatGPT\] would be a great start," [another responded](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3pcl3u/>). "\[J\]ust saying."

As [yet another user alluded](<https://old.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1coumbd/rchatgpt_is_hosting_a_qa_with_openais_ceo_sam/l3hzt43/>), OpenAI doesn't currently allow NSFW content because it's not allowed to do so and still be sold on Apple's App Store, which still abides by [Steve Jobs' strident anti-adult content stance](<https://www.wired.com/2010/04/steve-jobs-porn/>) over a decade after his death.

"They need to ensure that they won’t get sued into oblivion by accidentally allowing something Illegal to happen," that Redditor replied presciently.

While [Discord has managed](<https://www.techspot.com/news/89360-discord-uses-app-store-loophole-roll-back-ios.html>) to work around Apple's anti-NSFW policies, it's hard to imagine OpenAI exploiting loopholes and getting away with it— but then again, if anyone could make it happen, it would be Altman.

**More on OpenAI:** [*OpenAI Mocked for Issuing Infringement Claim Over Its Logo While Scraping the Entire Web to Train AI Models*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-logo-infringement-claim>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)