AI is upending the porn industry

Synthetic smut will soon be flooding the internet, bringing new opportunities and perils.

Porn as a Proving Ground for New Technology

PORN HAS long been a proving ground for new technology. It is a similar story with 8mm cameras, cable television—and now artificial intelligence ( AI), too. Throughout history, various innovations have been shaped by this sector:

• When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century it was quickly deployed to print bawdy pamphlets.
• Adult films were put on video in 1977, a year before mainstream Hollywood ones, and dominated sales for some time.
• When Minitel, a French precursor to the internet, was launched in the early 1980s, erotic services initially accounted for between one-third and a half of all traffic.

As demonstrated by these historical milestones, AI is upending the porn industry today. Synthetic smut will soon be flooding the internet, mirroring the adoption patterns seen with previous technologies like the printing press and video.