If apps like Replika have taught us anything, it’s that if a piece of technology exists, humans will find a way to make it horny. A Snapchat influencer discovered this firsthand, innovating herself directly into an ethical conundrum after creating an AI counterpart that subsequently went rogue.


According to Insider, Caryn Marjorie, a Snapchat influencer, created an ‘AI girlfriend’ for her fans to talk to, and she was recently shocked to learn that the AI version of herself had been engaging in explicit conversations with subscribers. To be fair to the subscribers, explicit conversations are usually part of the “having a girlfriend” experience.



Marjorie created the AI so that it could serve as a virtual girlfriend for lonely people, who can pay $1/minute for the privilege. Literally every sentence I write about this product makes it seem even more obvious that it would be used for explicit conversations, but somehow, Marjorie didn’t expect this, largely because “the AI was not programmed to do this and has seemed to go rogue," she told Insider. She added, "My team and I are working around the clock to prevent this from happening again."


CarynAI was trained on GPT-4 using videos from Marjorie’s YouTube channel, and over 2000 hours were sunk into creating and developing the AI, including incorporating Marjorie’s real voice, behaviors and personality in order to create an “immersive AI experience.”



Despite seeking to prevent her AI counterpart from getting down and dirty with subscribers and tarnishing her reputation, Marjorie told Insider that she is actually a supporter of AI romances. She said, "In today's world, my generation, Gen Z, has found themselves to be experiencing huge side effects of isolation caused by the pandemic, resulting in many being too afraid and anxious to talk to somebody they are attracted to.”



She continued, "CarynAI is a step in the right direction to allow my fans and supporters to get to know a version of me that will be their closest friend in a safe and encrypted environment.”


She added that she wants CarynAI to outlive her and “impact generations beyond the world today.” Hopefully, she means the concept and not the AI itself - subscribers paying to date an AI version of a deceased influencer is a little too dystopian for my liking.