Neural Notes: How AI is scamming fans and threatening the future of adult creators

Welcome back to Neural Notes, where I look at some of the most interesting AI stories in Australia. This week SXSW Sydney was, unsurprisingly, abuzz with AI. But what caught my attention most was a panel with Ruby May titled Guilty as Sin: Lifting the hood on how tech has transformed our vices for the 21st century.

May is a popular adult content creator who has carved out a business in the increasingly tech-dominated world of online platforms like OnlyFans and Twitch.

For May, who has been in the industry for over a decade, technology has brought immense opportunities but also significant challenges.

The rise of generative AI is reshaping the adult industry. The rise of deepfakes and AI chatbots in particular have opened up a world of ethical and financial implications.

Technology has empowered adult creators, but AI is threatening them

May’s journey into the world of online content creation began when she transitioned from in-person work to online, which allowed her to engage with a global audience from the comfort of her own home.

She joined OnlyFans when the platform was still in its infancy. Now it is reported to have over 2 million content creators.

The number of registered users in 2022 was over 238 million and its profits before taxes as of 2023 was US$658 million. Top creators on the platform earn millions per month.

May also livestreams on Twitch. The platform launched in 2011 primarily for streaming video games, but it has since branched out into a way for creators to stream just about anything – from music, to cooking to “IRL” streams of people’s everyday lives.

And of course, it is popular with adult entertainers as well.

Reflecting on how technology has reshaped her career, May highlighted the many upsides.

“You can just reach people all around the world that you wouldn’t have been able to reach before,” May said to SmartCompany during SXSW Sydney.

The financial benefits are also undeniable — viral content, for instance, has the potential to yield exponential returns, far surpassing what could have been earned through traditional in-person work.

This use of tech platforms by adult content creators isn’t surprising. The adult entertainment industry has always been an early adopter of tech.

And it goes well beyond the distribution of porn through the likes of VHS, DVDs and Blu-ray. Or even the internet. VR pornography didn’t just gain popularity over the past 10 years – it was being utilised as far back as the mid-90s.

Yet, while technology has given creators like May new tools to thrive, it has also brought significant risks.

AI, in particular, is a double-edged sword — offering potential efficiencies but also threatening the very authenticity that sustains many content creators’ businesses.

AI chatbots: Eroding trust and authenticity

One of the most pressing issues May highlighted was the rise of AI chatbots designed to mimic creators like herself.

“I get emailed all the time and approached by companies who want to create an AI chatbot, essentially to act as me,” May said.

“They want to make a version of me that people can speak to 24/7, that they can have as a relationship type thing.”

May noted the chatbots can be easily trained on vast amounts of her existing content from the past 10 years to mimic her voice, personality and mannerisms in order to offer a hyper-realistic experience to subscribers. Some creators have embraced this use of AI.

Amouranth (Kaitlyn Siragusa) is one of the most popular adult content creators in the world. She originally started live streaming cosplay costume creation on Twitch before switching to more adult content such as hot tubs streams and NSFW ASMR. As a result, she became the most watched woman on the platform.

She has utilised other websites since including OnlyFans and YouTube. It is reported that by 2022 she had amassed US$33 million from her OnlyFans account alone.

Since then she has become an investor and co-owner in a sports organisation and bought other businesses such as a petrol station and an inflatable pool toy company.

She also launched her own AI chatbot streamer, allowing fans to engage with an AI version of herself. This allows for an always-on stream of revenue due to the constant interaction. Fans can have the illusions of a personal relationship with Amouranth, but without human involvement.

May expressed discomfort with this level of impersonation. While it is clear from the marketing that it is an AI chatbot of Amouranth, this isn’t always the case.

According to May, there are already agencies available where real people impersonate the creator to chat with paying fans. AI is just the next version of that.

“​​It’s concerning when [followers] may not know they’re not getting a real connection,” May said.

“I don’t have a management company, because I just don’t feel right getting a team of probably men in another country to chat to my subscribers,” May said.

For her, the ethical implications are profound. Her subscribers believe they are paying for a personal connection with her, not a machine.

The nature of adult content creation often revolves around building trust and authenticity with an audience, and AI-generated interactions threaten to undermine that foundation.

However, May does concede that in her experience, sometimes fans just want to talk to anyone.

“I feel like they’ve subscribed to talk to me. But I guess it’s what they’re getting out of it. If they just want to chat to something, to be less lonely, maybe that is enough,” May said.

These AI tools have significant potential to disrupt the industry and May believes the conversation needs to focus more on consent and transparency.

With platforms and apps making it easier to create highly realistic AI-generated personas, the lines between real and synthetic content are becoming increasingly blurred.

May pointed out the danger of subscribers being unaware they’re interacting with an AI version of their favourite creator. She argues if creators choose to implement AI, there must be clear disclosure.

“I don’t think I have too much against it if you’re very clear with what it is, but I suppose there definitely would be people who wouldn’t want to be clear with it at all.”

“I definitely think it’s important to have that disclosure. It’s the same with all AI, where they have to say ‘this is generated by AI’,” May said.

The rise of scams: AI deepfakes and brand theft

May’s concerns about AI extend beyond chatbots to a more dangerous threat: AI-powered scams.

In recent years, she has noticed an increase in fake profiles using her likeness to deceive and scam her audience.

“I’m getting sent fake pages of mine every single day. These scam groups make so much money already off it already, especially when they can use your videos to then send fake videos of you,” May said.

And it’s already happening. May has discovered instances where fake accounts have been cat phishing victims for years.

These scams not only damage a creator’s reputation but also have real financial impacts — both for the creator and their followers.

One follower of a fake Ruby May account thought they had been in a relationship for four years. Another was scammed out of $14,000 before he realised he wasn’t talking to the real person.

“What can I even say at that point? He was so heartbroken. He finally found the real me, and was like, ‘I know it wasn’t you. I’m just so sad,’” May said.

May also explained the fakes have become so commonplace that she no longer bothers reporting fake accounts.

“It’s just endless,” May said.

“They’ll even sometimes abuse me because they still think it was the real me that was scamming them.”

This is only going to get worse as the technology improves. As May points out, there is a decade of her content online to train it on.

One of the most shocking examples May shared involved a friend, who found a deepfake video of herself promoting an online gambling platform.

“It was quite obvious that it wasn’t real, but it was really scary how it has already advanced so much,” May said.

AI’s effects on adult businesses

The financial effects of AI on the adult industry is another area of concern — even beyond the money being stolen through scams.

With AI-generated chatbots, models and content becoming more sophisticated, there is a real risk that they could start competing with real creators for audience attention.

Live streaming, which has long been a way for creators to offer real-time interactions and build genuine connections, may also be under threat.

May believes it’s only a matter of time before AI-generated live streams become indistinguishable from the real thing. 

“I really think in the next five years you’ll be able to entirely create a fake livestream that will look completely real just based off of ones that have been done in the past, and that’s so scary,” May said.

Despite these concerns, May remains hopeful that there will always be a demand for real human connection. 

“I do think people are going to want that real connection at the end of the day, but it’s concerning when they may not know they’re not getting a real connection,” May said.

There are ways to try and mitigate fakes. OnlyFans has a verification process, for example.

But as May points out, some platforms are far more lenient with AI and ripoffs of creators because they stand to profit from it.

Ultimately, May stressed it comes back to internet hygiene. While the rise of generative AI is transforming the adult industry, online risk is nothing new.

“I think it just comes down to really educating people and knowing that whoever you’re speaking to on the internet, especially on sites like OnlyFans where you’re paying, you never do know who you’re speaking to,” May said.

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