A group of activists and experts in the sexual business issued an open letter to EU regulators on Thursday, claiming that their opinions are being ignored in crucial discussions surrounding police AI technologies despite also being implicated in AI’s significant increase.
In response to German online regulations, a social of adult industry members —including sex workers, romantic filmmakers, sex tech companies, and sex educators—urged the German Commission to include them in future conversations shaping AI restrictions, according to the letter, seen by WIRED.
The group is signed the Open Mind AI program and includes the romantic filmmaker Erika Lust’s organization as well as the campaign group for the German Sex Workers ‘ Rights Alliance. The organization wants to inform the percentage of what it describes as a” critical space” in discussions of AI regulation. According to those coordinating the plan, the present discussion strategy runs the risk of overregulating an already marginalized community and excluding first-hand views on adult content.
” AI is evolving every day]and ] we see new developments at every corner”, said Ana Ornelas, a Berlin-based erotic author and educator who goes by the pseudonym Pimenta CÃtrica, and who is one of the leaders of the initiative. People turning to this new technologies to satiate their thoughts is normal.
Deepfakes are today a significant risk to AI, though. Sixty-eight percentage of them feature “porn,” primarily from women and girls, in non-consensual mode. It is “extremely dangerous” to those targeted, as well as to video players, says Ornelas. ” It’s a threat both to their individual dignity and their livelihood”, she adds. ” But the way the environment is posed, mature content creators, sex workers, and teachers are getting the shorter end of the stick on both sides of the spectrum”. She claims that she fears that the ban on all adult material may turn away genuinely produced content and entice people to adopt AI models without any filters.
The European Commission made what it called the first comprehensive policy on AI on the planet on August 1. The objective, it said, is to maintain responsible use of AI across the union. It was a continuation of earlier EU legislation that regulated outlawed and harmful activity on digital platforms. But the initiative’s organizers say regulators do n’t understand the adult industry, risking censorship, draconian measures, and misunderstandings.
” We can offer the right information to politicians so they can control in a way that protections fundamental rights, liberty, and fosters a more sex-positive online atmosphere”, says Ornelas. The German Commission did not respond to a post demand for WIRED right away.
Sex workers and movie artists have already reported discrimination and repression due to international laws limiting sex trafficking and limiting the services of banks. Child industry members, including sex teachers, have also had to struggle with punishments and removal from tech platforms.
” There’s a lack of knowledge of how laws affect our livelihoods”, says Paulita Pappel, an grownup filmmaker and an administrator of the program. ” We are facing prejudice, and if authorities are trying to protect the rights of individuals, it would be nice if they could defend the online rights of all”.
As regulators attempt to prevent children from seeing sexual content, creating AI plan that meets everyone’s needs and includes children’s safety is a delicate balancing act. This has been particularly evident in global tech regulation discussions. The controversial UK Online Safety Act, which required technology companies to protect children on their platforms and services, is one such example.
The UK even opened a contact for information on sex regulation in January, focusing on online sexuality. A similar structure, Pappel says, was increase AI laws in the EU.
The individuals behind the Open Mind AI action who spoke to WIRED even acknowledged the need to stop young people from viewing inappropriate content. ” We’re on the same side, we want the same stuff”, says Ornelas. ” Safe material and to be protected”.
According to Barry O’Sullivan, professor and founding director of the University College Cork, Ireland’s Insight SFI Research Center for Data Analytics, the adult industry is confronted by problems in both AI and overall in terms of online security. Age identification and security technology are additional issues that need to be addressed, according to him.
Prior to its AI regulations, the European Commission held open consultations in 2020, and it has since held focused consultations for the financial sector and “general-purpose AI.” Additionally, it has hosted roundtable discussions with representatives from the tech industry regarding the EU’s Digital Services Act ( DSA ) implementation.
According to Alessandro Polidoro, a modern rights activist and independent prosecutor coordinating the Digital Intimacy Coalition, which the Open Mind AI party is a part of, regulatory debate currently fall short of taking into account the adult industry in the same way that the percentage does another online partners.
” There’s a blind spot in digital regulation right now between the adult industry and AI policy”, he adds. There are issues that need to be addressed in the dialogue because they have been completely ignored and overlooked.
The push for representation is gaining support from those who are in charge of the push for representation, but it can take years for it to come to fruition. The Digital Intimacy Coalition claims the European Commission designated significant porn sites as subject to the Digital Services Act, which regulates large online platforms, in December 2023.
Polidoro praises the European Commission for keeping an open dialogue with various actors in the digital world, particularly as recent EU tech laws are being implemented.
” We need to find a sweet spot, and it can only happen with a two-way conversation”.
