AI, ONLYFANS AND THE FUTURE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE
On January 28, 2023, Alex Valaitis of Big Brain Daily made a prediction that should make everyone shiver with fear. Stock market crash? Global warming disaster? Famine? No, his prediction is far scarier than any of these things.
Of course, I am alluding to his prediction that by 2025 over half of the OnlyFans accounts will be AI-generated models secretly run by men.
You may think that I am joking, but I am not. Let me explain.
Before I begin, for those of you that aren’t familiar with OnlyFans (or are pretending not to be familiar with OnlyFans so a certain someone doesn’t find out … don’t worry, your secret is safe with me) let me catch you up. According to Crunchbase:
OnlyFans provides a social media platform where creators share and monetize content and develop connections with fans. It is a space for creators from all genres to express themselves freely, monetize content, and develop authentic connections with their fans.
While there are accounts that are not adult- themed in nature, the business is largely made up of content contributors who provide personalized pornography. It’s sex, more or less. And if this prediction is to come true, then this form of erotic entertainment - designed to allow “authentic” connections between content creators and fans! - will be generated by artificial intelligence (AI). This is deeply troubling and should frighten everyone.
For years, tech savants have been trying to produce AI that can engage with human beings on a level where it didn’t seem like they were engaging with a robot. In 1950 Alan Turing wondered if a machine could fool a human into thinking that it was a human as well. His challenge, later called The Turing Test, was to have AI engage with a person for five minutes without the person knowing that they were not talking to another person.
For years, there was debate as to whether the Turing Test had been passed, but with the rise of ChatGPT, deep fakes and other forms of AI, it seems that the challenge has been put to rest. It’s clear that AI has arrived. It’s no longer a topic limited to PhDs and futurists. It’s here. Now. And this will have a profound impact on not just technology, but the human experience.
While the AI breakthrough is remarkable and should be celebrated, perhaps we should stop and look at the Turing Test from a different angle. What does it say about the human experience if it can be replicated with binary code? What is the future for what it means to be human?
Let me stop and assure you that this is not a call to arms to return to a simpler time when you would take your best gal to the malt shop on a Saturday night. Nor is this the rantings of a luddite pointing out the evils of technology. Far from it. But there are some big issues to consider as we move forward with AI and how digital experiences are created.
The heart of the matter is whether digital experiences are being used as a tool to enhance the relationship with the customer, or to replace it. No one complains about the ubiquity of 24/365 services such as banking, travel arrangements, and food delivery. But we all have experienced screaming “REPRESENTATIVE” into the phone while trying to resolve an issue through a call center. If you are designing digital experiences that are trying to pass the Turing Test, then your business is in trouble. Digital experiences need to make the user feel more human, not less. It should be a tool to provide more depth and context to your relationships with your customers, not the entire experience.
To bring this back to our prediction about OnlyFans, I am sure that these AI accounts will be wildly successful. But if you are a business, do you want to create a one-time experience with your user? Or do you want a deep and meaningful (read as: profitable) relationship that takes place over a long period of time? My hunch is the latter. And creating these types of relationships moving forward is going to require a deeper understanding of who your customers really are. This will require empathy. Deep, deep empathy.
If you want help creating meaningful digital experiences that have empathy at their core, give me a shout. I just happen to know a guy who can help.
