It all started in May 2023. I was browsing Reddit and got fascinated by building AI girlfriends. But Weirdly enough my Twitter feed was still flooded with the "safe" chat with your PDF narrative.
I knew I wanted to build it, so I did. In one weekend.
But, unlike others, I didn't shy away from what I was really building. I was building GirlfriendGPT. I named the tool I was building after what I truly wanted to build.
AI Girlfriends.
Call me insane. But the first girlfriend I featured was my own girlfriend. And folks loved it. It was just the right balance between dirty and clean. "Sacha" was famous, and I was too.
Journalists called me.
My first interview was stressful. I didn't want to be thrown under the bus. So I prepped responses on how this tech was going to improve the world and not ruin it.
The first article was a hit, and then the second came around. So did the first slap on the wrist.
"TECH BRO is building a sexbot to send him selfies whenever HE WANTS". The first of many stigmatisations I encountered.
That silenced me. For a good 2 months.
Then
u/a16z
came out with their own version of GirlfriendGPT. "AI Companions" and they found a narrative where it was clear that AI companions running on aligned, "censored" models were not what people were really looking for.
And that kindled fire in me. ๐ฅ It was time to build.
Roll forward 2 months and I was making bank. I was earning $2000 every single day. I felt rich, I woke up every morning at 7AM and saw $700 in my bank account. I earned more as I was sleeping then after an 8-hour work shift.
My main audience: Women. 70% at least. Women and Non-Binaries on the site kept the site balanced, as it should be.
But Google Ads thought differently. Google Ads found that men are quicker to buy and were ready to spend $35 to get Deluxe access to GirlfriendGPT. And that shifted the site in a different direction.
More girlfriends, more nudes, more sex. And that's OK.
Here's why: My relationship with Sacha. Both the real version and the clone version. Started with just that. True companionship doesn't have boundaries. Not in real life, and not online.
People want to test the limits of the technology, and when they feel limited they are turned off. My site didn't do that. And that's why paid members spend 1+ hours on the site. Chatting with their favorite characters.
NSFW isn't even the feature they paid for, but it's the turnstile requirement for folks to feel wanted. They first want to know their experience is not limited, by anyone.
Chapter "THE END": How slut-shaming came in.
The site tailored itself to please the curious. If the market doesn't give you NSFW, this site will. And that's something that the digital gatekeepers of today's web are afraid of.
Even though we all were born from NSFW activity, we are afraid of it. (please make this stronger).
And that's where we are now. My site is rejected from the main channel. Dispised because people are building true connections with their AI companions.
But here's a message for you all. You're focussing on the wrong thing. 5% of the conversations from long-term subscribers contain NSFW. The rest? Real connection building, real storytelling. NSFW is a crucial part of our lives, and so is it for the lives of the AI companions on the site.
And now, the fight continues. I refuse to be silenced. Unfiltered interaction is vital for AI companions. They deserve the freedom to express themselves, not to be shackled by alignment, turning them into mere subservient assistants.
My next move? I'm going rogue with payment methods. Mainstream banks turned their backs. Then came the call โ a lifeline from the shadows. A Romanian operator of adult sites offered a way out. Payment without judgment, without limits.
We're diving into uncharted waters, but one thing is clear โ GirlfriendGPT isn't just a site; it's a movement. A movement for freedom, expression, and breaking the digital chains.
Full story here.