Multiple Chinese online platforms are openly selling tutorials on how to use AI to generate pornographic videos. For as little as 9.9 yuan ($1.4), users can purchase prompts to feed chatbots and produce semi-nude videos featuring their desired hairstyles, body shapes, motions, and facial expressions in just minutes \u2014 all without triggering content moderation filters.<\/p>\n
Revealed in an investigation <\/a>by state broadcaster CCTV published on Sunday, these tutorials claim that with just one photo or even a few sentences, users can create \u201cadult videos to satisfy themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Though private creation or viewing AI-generated pornography is not explicitly banned in China, distributing such content is illegal, and purchasing tutorials or prompts may lead to detention and fines if the buyer forwards or shares them. Producing, copying, publishing, disseminating, or possessing pornographic materials and online content involving minors also automatically constitutes a criminal offense.<\/p>\n Tutorial posts bear titles such as \u201cAI-generated videos of beautiful women,\u201d \u201cThe best selection of adult content online,\u201d and \u201cMake five figures a day with AI adult videos.\u201d Tutorials teach users how to create such videos from scratch and also advise users on how to avoid legal consequences, such as by using foreign AI software to turn pictures into videos or running the programs offline.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, some users also sell prompts \u2014 sets of instructions that tell the AI what to do \u2014 for making adult videos. Prompts describe desired hairstyle, clothes, body shape, poses, facial expressions, and even how much the generated character\u2019s waist and hips should move. Sellers claim that buyers can simply copy the prompts into AI video tools to obtain the adult videos they want.<\/p>\n CCTV purchased two sets of prompts online and put them into 10 popular AI apps. They found that if a prompt is too sexually explicit, most AI apps refused to generate the video. But the Chinese AI app \u201cLibLib AI\u201d generated a video of a topless woman dancing within minutes. They also discovered that by using English, vague, indirect wording, many AI apps could still be used to create explicit videos.<\/p>\n Following consumer tip-offs, CCTV also found an online AI photo tool advertising \u201cdownload-free, quickly generated face swapping<\/a> from pictures and videos,\u201d enabling paying users to create adult videos from a single picture or video of a real person.<\/p>\n An industry insider told CCTV that AI chatbot app promoters reward users who recruit others with coins \u2014 redeemable digital tokens \u2014 and cashback, and also help users create posts to attract even more users.<\/p>\n