WifeGPT: OpenAI Erotica Rollout + A Brief History of AI Companions

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Hey you! I hope you enjoy this video—please let me know your thoughts as I'll be making a lot more of these and the more feedback the better :)

Sam Altman just announced that adult-verified erotic AI companions are coming to ChatGPT by December 2025. We're talking about a platform with 800 million users. This is huge, and honestly kind of wild to think about.
In this video, I trace the evolution of AI companions—from Gatebox's holographic anime girlfriend back in 2016, through Replika and Character.AI, all the way to xAI's new companions like Ani. I look at who's actually using these (spoiler: it's not just lonely guys—teens are on these platforms, and the 18-35 crowd is a major demographic).
We also dive into what can go wrong: the lawsuits, the heartbreak when companies push updates that fundamentally change your AI companion, the real relationships that have ended because of these bots. And why age verification and scale are about to define what happens next.

SOURCES & LINKS
Teen Usage & Research:

Common Sense Media survey: "Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions" https://www.commonsensemedia.org/site...
Survey toplines: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/site...
Overview: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/rese...
ABC News on teens & AI companions: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/vid...
ABC GMA explainer: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/tee...

Who Reads Erotic Content:
Nature study on erotic fiction readers (2021): https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159...

The Platforms:
Gatebox: https://www.gatebox.ai/digitalfigureb... | Promo video:    • Gatebox - Promotion Movie "OKAERI"_english  
Replika background: https://www.washingtonpost.com/techno...
xAI/Grok Companions: https://www.theverge.com/news/706988/...
TIME on Grok: https://time.com/7302790/grok-ai-chat...

The Dark Side:
Replika update heartbreak: https://www.washingtonpost.com/techno...
People who marry their AI chatbots: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-ra...

Policy & Safety:
Sen. Hawley on minors & chatbots:    • ‘Every Parent’s Worst Nightmare’: Chairman...  
CA legislation on AI chatbots & minors: https://apnews.com/article/33be4d57d0...


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This video discusses crisis topics including self-harm in the context of AI companion risks. If you're in crisis, please reach out:

🇺🇸 988 Lifeline — call/text 988 or chat at https://988lifeline.org
🇺🇸 Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741: https://www.crisistextline.org
🌍 International (Befrienders): https://www.befrienders.org
🇬🇧 Samaritans — call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org