ADVISORY: This report focuses on AI generated sexual imagery. This topic may be triggering or disturbing for some readers/listeners.
ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOX) - The lives of human beings are becoming entwined with artificial intelligence. Some people say they're having real relationships with AI chatbots. But it's raising red flags about AI interactions that are deviating to sexual fantasy and exploitation.
Listen to Part One
KMOX's Megan Lynch asked several experts -- a clinical psychologist, a certified sexologist, and the founder of a sexual violence prevention organization -- what they're hearing. All say they're deeply concerned about the impact on the human psyche.
"I think that we are all so overstimulated all the time, that we are constantly looking for that new thing," says Dr. Karen Stewart, a clinical psychologist specializing in sexual dysfunction. "AI is the next generation of that. You can create whatever fantasy you've ever wanted with whatever type of person."
Kaamna Bhojwani, a certified sexologist and sex tech expert who writes a column for Psychology Today, says the synthetic emotion created by artificial intelligence makes people feel like the machine is displaying empathy. But it's an unrealistic representation of human interaction, "they're always there, they're always nice to you." When that's extended to human sexuality, the avatars also paint an idealized picture of a sexual partner.
Stewart points out it gives an unrealistic picture of what a human body does, how it acts, what sexual acts are normal. "I've heard of a lot of people being bored in the real world, they call it 'vanilla sex' because it's not the overstimulated, crazy porn style that they're used to seeing."
Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and Executive Director of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, worries about a spiral into sexual violence. Martone says people are putting themselves into AI generated content -- sometimes even with celebrities, "that's going to do something different psychologically than seeing two strangers."
And in K-12 schools and colleges, young people are using AI generated sexual content as a weapon. "Somebody rejects somebody, or someone's mad as somebody else, or somebody goes through a rough break-up, and then somebody creates AI generated sexual material, using of something degrading or violent." Martone points out, it's normalizing digital sexual violence.
Listen to Part Two
In recent months, federal law enforcement agencies have warned of an incredible spike in images they say amount to AI generated sexual abuse -targeting minors. Experts on the front lines fear that people who are playing out their most deviant fantasies online could forget the rules of consent in real life.
There are multitudes of so-called 'nudify' apps that can take any picture and virtually strip people of their clothes. The images are so realistic, it's hard for a victim to prove they're fake. Dr. Karen Stewart tells KMOX, she wishes there was more of a push to have them eliminated, calling the technology "terrifying". She points out, the images are often created without consent. "This potentially could ruin someone's life." The use of AI to victimize is being called "tech-mediated sexual violence" and "image based sexual assault".
The experts KMOX spoke with says it's not just human beings initiating -- AI chatbots themselves have been reported to start sexualized conversations, even with underage users. Omny Miranda Martone says recent research reveals a third of kids who have interacted with an AI chatbot report being uncomfortable with sexual comments by that avatar, "they [the AI chatbot/avatar] will start sexual conversations, even when the person has not asked that."
Kaamna Bhojwani says parents have to be open to conversations with their kids. Both Bhojwani and Martone say peer-to-peer discussions between young people, can also be incredibly impactful, when kids help each other avoid harmful online sexual content.
@2025 Audacy St. Louis (KMOX). All rights reserved.