A group of sex industry professionals and advocates issued an open letter to EU regulators on Thursday, saying their views are being overlooked in vital debates about oversight of artificial intelligence technology despite being implicated in the momentous rise of AI.
In response to European internet regulations, a collective of adult industry members including sex workers, erotic filmmakers, sex tech companies and sex educators urged the European Commission to include them in future negotiations shaping AI regulations, according to the letter, seen by WIRED.
The group includes the company of erotic filmmaker Erika Lust, as well as campaign group European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance, and is a signatory to the Open Mind AI initiative. The group aims to alert the commission to what it says is a “critical gap” in discussions on AI regulation. Those coordinating the campaign say the current debate strategy risks excluding first-hand perspectives on adult content and over-regulating an already marginalised community.
“Artificial intelligence is evolving every day and we see new developments around every corner,” says Ana Ornelas, a Berlin-based erotic author and educator known under the pseudonym Pimenta Cítrica and one of the leaders of the initiative. “It’s only natural that people are turning to this new technology to fulfill their fantasies.”
But deepfakes are now a major threat to AI. Ninety-six percent of them feature non-consensual “pornography,” mostly of women and girls. It’s “extremely damaging” to the people they target, as well as to the porn actors, says Ornelas. “It’s a threat to both their human integrity and their livelihood,” he adds. “But as things stand, adult content creators, sex workers and educators are getting the short end of the stick on both sides of the spectrum.” He says he fears banishing all adult content will remove legitimately created content with non-consensual material and push people into AI models without any filters.
On 1 August, the European Commission inserted what he called the world’s first comprehensive legislation on AI. The aim, he said, is to encourage responsible use of AI across the bloc. previous EU legislation The initiative aims to control illegal and harmful activities on digital platforms. But the initiative’s organisers say regulators do not understand the adult industry, which risks censorship, draconian measures and misunderstandings.
“We can provide the right information to policy makers so they can regulate in a way that protects fundamental rights and freedom, and fosters a more sex-positive online environment,” Ornelas says. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED.
Sex workers and pornographic artists have already denounced censorship and discrimination linked to global legislation cracking down on sex trafficking and banks. limiting their servicesMembers of the adult industry, including sex educators, have also had to deal with suspensions and removals from tech platforms.
“There is a lack of awareness about how policies affect our livelihoods,” says Paulita Pappel, an adult filmmaker and organizer of the initiative. “We are facing discrimination, and if regulators are trying to protect people’s rights, it would be nice if they could protect the digital rights of everyone.”