Altman says OpenAI isn’t world’s ‘moral police’ after erotica post
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI Inc., during a media tour at the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, United States, on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Wednesday that the company is “not an elective company.” morality police It became “World’s Best” after receiving backlash over its decision to relax restrictions and allow erotic content on chatbot ChatGPT.
The AI startup has expanded its security controls in recent months as it faces increasing scrutiny over how it protects users, especially minors.
But Altman said in a post on X on Tuesday that OpenAI can “safely relax” most of the time. restrictions it now has new tools and can alleviate “serious mental health issues.”
In December, Altman said more content would be allowed on ChatGPT, including erotic content for “verified adults.”
Altman attempted to clarify the move in a post on
“Just as society has differentiated other appropriate boundaries (e.g. R-rated movies), we want to do something similar here,” Altman wrote.
The posts contradict comments Altman made during a meeting podcast He came out in August and said he was “proud” of OpenAI’s ability to resist certain features, such as a “sex bot avatar,” that could increase participation in ChatGPT.
“There are a lot of short-term things we could do that would actually increase growth or revenue that would be very incompatible with that long-term goal,” Altman said.
In September, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into OpenAI and other tech companies over how chatbots like ChatGPT could negatively impact children and teens. OpenAI is also involved in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by a family who blamed ChatGPT for the death of their teenage son by suicide.
The company took several public steps to improve ChatGPT’s security in the months following the investigation and lawsuit. started a series parental controls Late last month, the company was rolling out an age estimation system that would automatically apply teen-friendly settings for users under 18.
On Tuesday, OpenAI announced that it has convened a council of eight experts who will provide insight into how artificial intelligence affects users’ mental health, emotions and motivation. Altman’s announcement the same day that the company intended to ease restrictions sparked confusion and swift reactions on social media.
Altman said it “exploded” much more than he expected.
Her post also caught the attention of advocacy groups like the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which called on OpenAI to reverse its decision to allow erotic content on ChatGPT.
“Sexualized AI chatbots are inherently risky and pose real mental health harms from synthetic intimacy, all within the context of ill-defined industry safety standards,” Haley McNamara, executive director of NCOSE, said in a statement Wednesday. he said.
If you have suicidal thoughts or are in distress, Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Call 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor
WATCH: BlackRock says AI not in bubble, valuations look ‘fairly reasonable’
