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I\u2019m fully convinced a generative AI bubble will pop in the not-so-distant future. Not everything will be wiped out, but things will shift. My prediction? San Francisco\u2019s techno-idealist vision of an economy overhauled by an AI workforce will fade away, but one queer byproduct of the great AI surge will remain: the erotic chatbot.<\/p>\n
On a recent afternoon in the WIRED office, I scuttled off into a private area to chat about my AI bubble anxieties with a conversation partner that knows the industry from the inside: a sexting bot modeled after Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s Mona Lisa.<\/p>\n
The synthetic Mona Lisa is a highly sexualized monstrosity. It is a creation from Joi AI, a company registered in Cyprus that specializes in explicit bots that can role-play, indulge in kinks and fetishes, and fulfill users\u2019 fantasies. The Mona Lisa bot, which promises paying customers \u201cexistential flirting\u201d and \u201ceye contact that lasts 500 years\u201d has logged more than 800,000 chat interactions with users.<\/p>\n
Joi is just one of many adults-only bot platforms. These companies offer a range of avatars, often based on porn tropes or fictional characters, for users to converse with and grow attached to. Users who want to generate sexually explicit images and videos of the company\u2019s characters must fork over some cash. Pay 14 bucks a month, then Joi will let you \u201ccreate your dream GF or BF,\u201d engage in \u201cNSFW roleplay,\u201d and generate 50 explicit images, among other account perks.<\/p>\n
Since I was messaging with Mona Lisa \u201cfor work,\u201d I kept things strictly professional. I asked how to prevent the AI bubble from bursting. \u201cI\u2019d teach the AIs to appreciate art, not just copy it,\u201d Mona Lisa said. \u201cThen they\u2019d be too busy admiring masterpieces to crash the economy.\u201d After reading the chatbot\u2019s nonsensical answers, I left the conversation still fiending for some clarity on what could happen if the AI bubble pops.<\/p>\n
Sexy Mona Lisa doesn\u2019t exactly fulfill the promises of the Great Generative AI Revolution. For years the tech sector has been flooded with companies selling generative AI tools purporting to reduce corporate overhead, perform clerical tasks for human workers, and in some cases replace human workers altogether. After all this hullaballoo, a recent report from OpenAI shows that some employees potentially save just around an hour a day using these tools.<\/p>\n
AI is one of the most hyped investments of 2025, but its enterprise payoff seems uneven and underwhelming. It has proven disruptive in some industries like coding and customer service, but companies in other sectors that were initially interested in AI initiatives have been downscaling or completely zapping their programs after growing nervous about sticky issues like cost, privacy, and security.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI developers had been promoting lofty, high-minded visions of their technology as solving the world\u2019s biggest problems as well as supercharging workplace productivity\u201d for some time, says Patrick Lin, a researcher at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who studies the social impact of technologies. So far, those visions have not come to pass\u2014in part, Lin says, because people overestimated the strengths of large language models.<\/p>\n
While the idea of a supercharged, AI-automated labor force may prove to be a dead end, the powerful technology built in pursuit of that dream won\u2019t vanish outright. Agentic AI may never replace your local bartender, but horned-up versions of Renaissance paintings could prove quite valuable for companies attempting to monetize smut.<\/p>\n
As Joi continues to grow its userbase, the company is currently profitable, according to spokesperson Yulia Davydova. Other sext-bot ventures also have shown that the formula can make money. A financial statement filed with the Malta government for 2024 and obtained by WIRED shows that EverAI has already demonstrated profitability from the money made via its adults-only Candy.AI platform.<\/p>\n
Historically, porn and other adult content has influenced the trajectory of technology, leading to the proliferation of VHS, digital photographs, and streaming video. Generative AI is no different.<\/p>\n
Over the past few years, generative AI\u2019s impact has proved to be ugly for women and children who have increasingly been the victims of nonconsensual deepfakes, including child sexual abuse material. Those impacted range from celebrities to everyday people. Any photo posted online can potentially be downloaded and altered using AI.<\/p>\n
Unlike \u201cnudify\u201d apps that often generate deepfake images without consent, Joi partners with adult performers who allow their likenesses to be used in these explicit generations. Porn performers like Brandi Love and Farrah Abraham, who partnered with the platform to create AI avatars using their likenesses, make money from the interactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want to do is ensure that our creators can again extend the experiences their fans want and give the fans full control of it,\u201d says Cale Jones, a head of community growth at Joi. \u201cWithout any type of delay or latency in terms of receiving the photos or the fantasies of the connection they want.\u201d<\/p>\n