The Rise of AI Porn: Addressing the Real Issue

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I have long eschewed the anti-porn arguments that talk about how the women in porn are all victims who users are abusing. You know what I mean – claims that those who are not being forced to do it are only doing it because they grew up being sexually abused and don’t know any better. Aside from the fact that this has not been true for many decades, it misses the real point for those of us who follow Jesus.

Now, as we stand on the precipice of AI porn that is indistinguishable from real people, we see why this argument was dangerous. I already deal with teens and young adults who argue hentai (pornographic anime or manga comics) is okay because there are no real people involved. Soon you will be able to put a few parameters into a porn AI and watch anything you want – with no real people involved. And some Christians are going to ask “how could that be wrong” because we have failed to explain the issue properly.

As an example of how realistic AI porn will soon be, the image with this post is AI generated. It’s one of thousands of such images on Adobe Stock Images. It’s also one of the least sexual and smallest busted.

In Matthew 5:28 Jesus said, “…everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” [ESV] So how do we parse that in our modern world? A picture or video of a woman is not the woman. Some argue porn is not wrong for this reason. The problem with this is it misses the point. The focus of what Jesus is saying is the man’s heart.

Let’s say, you imagine you’re having sex with your wife. Except her breasts are bigger, her pubic hair has been removed (something she has refused to do), and she is doing and enjoying some sex act you know she would never do. You’re not actually fantasising about your wife, are you? Giving her your wife’s face and name doesn’t make her your wife, and your wife is the only person you should be having sexual thought about, or being aroused by. The real problem with porn is that it detracts from your sex life with your wife. Or future wife if you are single. Porn hurts and limits real life sex, and removing real woman from it doesn’t change that.

Of course, AI porn will be far more damaging. Initially, image generation was offered by folks who wanted to avoid the legal quagmire of doing porn. Not that the safeguards in place are foolproof. But dedicated AI porn sites have already been built, and the flood of them is coming. Men will be able to virtually create their perfect woman. Get her hair, breasts, and genitals just the right size, shape, and colour – even if the result is impossible for flesh and blood. What’s more, these fake vixens can be made to preform sex acts no real woman could do, and seem to enjoy things that would hurt a real woman. I fear we will soon have young men who can’t have, or won’t even want to have, sex with real women because they can’t live up to AI fantasy sex.

This issue is here now, and we need to be aware of it. We need to protect ourselves, and our children. And we need to stand firm on the fact that getting sexually aroused by anyone or anything other than our wife is wrong and harmful.

A post worth reading:

Emerj | Artificial Intimacy: How AI-Generated Pornography is Changing Society ◄ “Human relationships will change radically as sexual arousal and gratification via AI-generated content become normal and socially acceptable.”

Image Credit: © Anatoly Tiplyashin | stock.adobe.com
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