AI porn websites appear to operate on what seems to be a revolving basis. People will search for them to find that they either do not work or have been taken down. 
The question that this raises is why do these services go offline that provide artificially generated pornographic material.
In seeking to understand this question we need to outline the combination of factors that pertain to the safety of potential users, the websites themselves, how to handle potentially concerning content, and the accompanying risks and universal uncertainties. Although there is demand for generated pornographic materials, continuing this across the internet is certainly not easy.
In this case we seek to tackle the how and why generated pornographic services go offline and why the processes that accompany these services are so difficult to manage.
High and Ongoing Legal Risk
When it comes to legal risk, one of the biggest reasons AI porn tools are put offline is due to the fact that the laws that pertain to adult content, manipulated media, and artificially generated media differ a lot across the globe. Citing the laws that are problematic for developers and the legal actions developers could face:
- Unlicensed content: Software that allows a user to create a sexualized representation of an individual without her\his consent can breach laws that protect privacy, her\his right of publicity, and anti deepfake laws.
- Child Protection: While AI content that is representative of a minor is illegal in most jurisdictions, it does carry severe criminal punishment, and is therefore an issue.
- Distributor Liability: If an AI developer, creator, or elusive sexual content provider fails to design, create, or offer a platform to share content, they could be legally liable for even sharing sexualized content without consent.
Because of the vastness of the Internet, an AI porn tool may inadvertently breach laws of multiple countries simultaneously, which makes its operation extremely risky. In order to protect themselves from the risk of lawsuits and criminal liability, many developers decide to take their tools offline.
The Limitations of Platforms and Hosting Services
The majority of artificial intelligence applications depend on external service providers for platforms, cloud computing, or payment services. These providers usually have firm policies about sexually explicit materials.
- Cloud Services: Providers of cloud services, such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure, may close user accounts if services are used for sexual content, particularly if that content includes images of real people and unauthorized use or images of real people.
- Appearing In Application Stores: AI apps are nearly impossible to distribute through official stores because Google and Apple’s application stores prohibit all apps that have sexualized content generated by artificial intelligence.
- Enhancing Routing and Traffic Management: Even if developers independently host content, streaming services Enhancing Routing and Traffic Management becomes expensive and leaves content vulnerable to removals.
Developers of products involving AI pornography are prevented from functioning in a sustained manner because there is a lack of viable hosting and payment alternatives. Even though some developers may independently host content, expensive streaming services, enhancing routing, and traffic management all leave content vulnerable to removals.
The Pressure of Ethics and the Public
The primary reason these products are available for use is how the public perceives these tools, and the ethical pressure that accompanies that reason. Because of the media attention, people began to criticize it, advocating for various digital rights.
The public began to criticize the use of deep fake technology because of how it may harm people.
The news often covers how many celebrities seem to get involved with AI porn due to its controversy.
As a result of the social and psychological harms outlined in reports by the Academy and NGOs, regulators and social media companies answer to these reports.
Ethical concerns and reputational risks often lead developers to remove features even in the absence of legal action.
Moderation and Abuse of the Technology
The tools of AI porn are particularly open to mass abuse. Even the best of intentions can be used to violate the ideals of consent, copyright, or the laws of the land. Content moderation of these types of AIs is notoriously difficult:
- Scale: No matter how sophisticated the AI, the volume of the content that is produced is impossible to get a human to screen.
- Realism: Advanced models produce hyper-realistic images that are difficult to filter effectively.
- Prompt manipulation: In the absence of content controls, a sophisticated user can generate whatever content they desire through proxy or verbal obfuscation
When developers are unable to guarantee responsible use, social media companies and/or cloud hosting services are required to remove the app, often citing inadequate content moderation and an inability to control illegal content.
Financial Viability and Operational Sustainability
The tools of AI porn are expensive and resource exhaustive. Powerful cloud computing, cutting edge graphics processing units, and continual model training are all requirements. At the same time:
- Developers have very few payment processors to choose from.
- Adult generative AI tools have no advertising monetization.
- Legal compliance must be factored into the budget.
All of these challenges lead to the conclusion that, for many developers, the total costs of offering generative AI adult content tools is simply not worth the return.
Regulatory Challenges
The legality of adult generative AI content is very much in the grey in many jurisdictions. Laws are continuously changing, leaving developers in the dark trying to figure out what is, and isn’t, legal:
- Some jurisdictions criminalize sexual content that is AI-generated and features real persons.
- Some jurisdictions have laws that prohibit non-consensual deepfake pornography, which is also known as “deepfake porn”.
- Many jurisdictions have little to no laws regulating adult generative AI content, leaving the developers to determine the enforcement of the laws.
Due to the above fast changing laws, many developers have no choice but to remove the generative adult content in order to comply with the upcoming laws.
Social Responsibility
Some AI tool creators mention social or cultural responsibility when taking their tools offline. Apart from compliance, the social and psychological effects of AI-generated adult content are still emotional harassment, psychological harassment, and social media harassment, as well as the indefensible sexual content, coupled with the normalization of erotic non-consensual imagery and demeaning representations. Even when developers face no legal repercussions, they may feel hosting an AI porn tool goes against their morals and may harm their reputation.
The Cycle of Emergence and Shutdown
AI porn tools have the same pattern of emergence and shutdown.
- Seeding the market: New tools generate interest as they are quickly adopted and go viral.
- Decomposing: Open users begin to push the boundaries of the tool and may even create non-consensual content.
- Media attention: The scope of public interest spikes, along with a growing legal and ToS risk.
- Developer fixes/updates: Tools go offline to avoid legal repercussions, and users are left with no toys.
- Iteration: The tools may now be implemented on other infrastructures.
The cycle explains why some AI porn tools become available one day and adults-only the next.
Final Thought
Most AI pornography tools are taken offline because of legal, platform, ethic, and tech and money problems. Most of the time the tools are offline, AI tech is still new, but the tools are facing an issue that is not tech related. The tools, developers, and platform and regulators are working on an intersection of law, ethics, and social that makes AI sex tools some of the most difficult tech to keep online.