By MATT O’BRIEN, Associated Press Technology Writer

ChatGPT will be able to have kinkier conversations after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the artificial intelligence company will soon allow its chatbot to engage in “erotica for verified adults.”

OpenAI won’t be the first to try to profit from sexualized AI. Sexual content was a top draw for AI tools almost as soon as the boom in AI-generated imagery and words erupted in 2022.

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But the companies that were early to embrace mature AI also encountered legal and societal minefields and harmful abuse as a growing number of people have turned to the technology for companionship or titillation.

Will a sexier ChatGPT be different? After three years of largely banning mature content, Altman said Wednesday that his company is “not the elected moral police of the world” and ready to allow “more user freedom for adults” at the same time as it sets new limits for teens.

“In the same way that society differentiates other appropriate boundaries (R-rated movies, for example) we want to do a similar thing here,” Altman wrote on social media platform X, whose owner, Elon Musk, has also introduced an animated AI character that flirts with paid subscribers.

For now, unlike Musk’s Grok chatbot, paid subscriptions to ChatGPT are mostly pitched for professional use. But letting the chatbot become a friend or romantic partner could be another way for the world’s most valuable startup, which is losing more money than it makes, to turn a profit that could justify its $500 billion valuation.

“They’re not really earning much through subscriptions so having erotic content will bring them quick money,” said Zilan Qian, a fellow at Oxford University’s China Policy Lab who has studied the popularity of dating-based chatbots in the U.S. and China.

There are already about 29 million active users of AI chatbots designed specifically for romantic or sexual bonding, and that’s not counting people who use conventional chatbots in that way, according to research published by Qian earlier this month.

It also doesn’t include users of Character.AI, which is fighting a lawsuit that alleges a chatbot modeled after “Game of Thrones” character Daenerys Targaryen formed a sexually abusive relationship with a 14-year-old boy and pushed him to kill himself. OpenAI is facing a lawsuit from the family of a 16-year-old ChatGPT user who died by suicide in April.

Qian said she worries about the toll on real-world relationships when mainstream chatbots, already prone to sycophancy, are primed for 24-hour availability serving sexually explicit content.

“ChatGPT has voice chat versions. I would expect that in the future, if they were to go down this way — voice, text, visual — it’s all there,” she said.

Humans who fall in love with human-like machines have long been a literary cautionary tale, from popular science fiction of the last century to the ancient Greek legend of Pygmalion, obsessed with a woman he sculpted from ivory. Creating such a machine would seem like an unusual detour for OpenAI, founded a decade ago as a nonprofit dedicated to safely building better-than-human AI.

Altman said on a podcast in August that OpenAI has tried to resist the temptation to introduce products that could “juice growth or revenue” but be “very misaligned” with its long-term mission. Asked for a specific example, he gave one: “Well, we haven’t put a sexbot avatar in ChatGPT yet.”

Idaho-based startup Civitai, a platform for AI-generated art, learned the hard way that making money off mature AI won’t be an easy path.

“When we launched the site, it was an intentional choice to allow mature content,” said Justin Maier, the company’s co-founder and CEO, in an interview last year.

Backed by the prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has also invested in OpenAI, the Idaho startup was one of several that tried to capitalize on the sudden popularity of tools like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney that enabled people to type a description and conjure up almost any kind of image. Part of Stable Diffusion’s initial popularity was the ease with which it could generate a new kind of synthetic and highly customized pornography.

“What we had seen was that there was a lot of interest in mature content,” Maier said. Training these AI systems, known as models, on “mature themes actually made it so that these models were more capable of human anatomy and resulted in actually better models,” he said.

“We didn’t want to prevent the kind of growth that actually increased everything for the entire community, whether you were interested in mature content or Pixar,” Maier said. “So we allowed it early on and have always kind of had this battle of making it so that we can keep things filtered and safe, if that’s not what you’re interested in. We wanted to ultimately give the control to the user to decide what they would see on the site and what their experience would be.”

That also invited abuse. Civitai last year implemented new measures to detect and remove sexual images depicting children, but it remained a hub for AI-generated pornography, including fake images of celebrities. Confronting increasing pressure, including from payment processors and a new law against nonconsensual images signed by President Donald Trump, Civitai earlier this year blocked users from creating deepfake images of real people. Engagement dropped.

Another company that hasn’t shied away from mature content is Baltimore-based Nomi, though its founder and CEO Alex Cardinell said its companion chatbots are “strictly” for users over 18 and were never marketed to kids. They are also not designed for sex, though Cardinell said in an interview earlier this year that people who build platonic relationships with their chatbot might find it veering into a romantic one.

“It’s kind of very user-dependent for where they’re kind of missing the human gap in their life. And I think that’s different for everyone,” he said.

He declined to guess how many Nomi users are having erotic conversations with the chatbot, comparing it to real-life partners who might do “mature content things” for some part of their lives but “all sorts of other stuff together as well.”

“We’re not monitoring user conversations like that,” Cardinell said.

By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at the White House on Friday, with the U.S. leader signaling he’s not ready to agree to sell Kyiv a long-range missile system that the Ukrainians say they desperately need.

Zelenskyy gets his one-on-one with Trump a day after the U.S. president and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy phone call to discuss the conflict.

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In recent days, Trump had shown an openness to selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, even as Putin warned that such a move would further strain the U.S.-Russian relationship.

But following Thursday’s call with Putin, Trump appeared to downplay the prospects of Ukraine getting the missiles, which have a range of about 995 miles.

“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,” Trump said. “We have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean we can’t deplete our country.”

Zelenskyy had been seeking the weapons that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory and target key military sites, energy facilities and critical infrastructure. Zelenskyy has argued such strikes would help compel Putin to take Trump’s calls for direct negotiations to end the war more seriously.

But Putin warned Trump during the call that supplying Kyiv with the Tomahawks “won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries,” according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that talk of providing Tomahawks had already served a purpose by pushing Putin into talks. “The conclusion is that we need to continue with strong steps. Strength can truly create momentum for peace,” Sybiha said on the social platform X late Thursday.

Ukrainian officials have also indicated that Zelenskyy plans to appeal to Trump’s economic interests by aiming to discuss the possibility of energy deals with the U.S.

Zelenskyy is looking to offer to store American liquefied natural gas in Ukraine’s gas storage facilities, which would allow for American presence in the European energy market.

He previewed the strategy on Thursday in meetings with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the heads of American energy companies, leading him to post on X that it is important to restore Ukraine’s energy infrastructure after Russian attacks and expand “the presence of American businesses in Ukraine.”

It will be the fourth face-to-face meeting for Trump and Zelenskyy since the Republican returned to office in January, and their second in less than a month.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a news conference, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump announced following Thursday’s call with Putin that he would soon meet with the Russian leader in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss ways to end the war. The two also agreed that their senior aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would meet next week at an unspecified location.

Fresh off brokering a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, Trump has said finding an endgame to the war in Ukraine is now his top foreign policy priority and has expressed new confidence about the prospects of getting it done.

Ahead of his call with Putin, Trump had shown signs of increased frustration with the Russian leader.

Last month, he announced that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.

Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, insisted he would quickly end the war, but his peace efforts appeared to stall following a diplomatic blitz in August, when he held a summit with Putin in Alaska and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies.

Trump emerged from those meetings certain he was on track to arranging direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin. But the Russian leader hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine.

Trump, for his part, offered a notably more neutral tone about Ukraine following what he described a “very productive” call with Putin.

He also hinted that negotiations between Putin and Zelenskyy might be have to be conducted indirectly.

“They don’t get along too well those two,” Trump said. “So we may do something where we’re separate. Separate but equal.”

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE, Associated Press/Report for America

Big crowds of protesters are expected Saturday in thousands of places around the U.S. in opposition to what some are characterizing as increasingly authoritarian practices by President Donald Trump.

It’s the second “No Kings” protest and third mass movement against the administration this year, and it comes amid an intensifying conflict between federal law enforcement and protesters nationwide.

Some conservative politicians have condemned the protests as “Hate America” rallies, while others say that it represents a “patriotic” fight for First Amendment rights.

Here is what to expect on Saturday.

Organizers aim to boost political engagement

Ezra Levin, a leading organizer of Saturday’s protests, said the demonstrations are a response to what he called Trump’s “crackdown on First Amendment rights.”

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Levin, the co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents.

He said those steps cumulatively represented a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.

Protests are planned for more than 2,500 locations nationwide — from the country’s largest city, New York, to small unincorporated, rural communities like East Glacier Ridge, Montana, with roughly 300 residents.

Organizers will consider the day a success, Levin said, if people are galvanized to become more politically involved on an ongoing basis.

Mostly peaceful protest in June

The last “No Kings” protest took place on June 14 in thousands of cities and towns across the country, in large part to protest a military parade in Washington that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday. “No Kings” organizers at the time called the parade “coronation” that was symbolic of what they characterized as Trump’s growing authoritarian overreach.

Confrontations were isolated and the protests were largely peaceful.

Police in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration enforcement raids erupted the week prior and sparked demonstrations across the country, used tear gas and crowd-control munitions to clear out protesters after the formal event ended. Officers in Portland also fired tear gas and projectiles to disperse a crowd that protested in front of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building well into the evening.

One protester was killed during the Salt Lake City march in June. A safety volunteer shot at a person allegedly pointing a rifle at demonstrators, but inadvertently struck and killed protester Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a beloved fashion designer.

Utah organizers focus on healing

Four months later, no one has been charged. Experts have said state gun laws may shield both the shooter and the man who brandished a rifle but didn’t fire shots.

Jamie Carter, an organizer of Saturday’s rally, said Utah activists considered not participating in this round of “No Kings” demonstrations, but “we also felt that we really had to get back out there.”

Organizers are not affiliated with the groups who put on the June demonstration that turned deadly. Safety volunteers will be present but unarmed, and all have received de-escalation training, said Carter, of Salt Lake Indivisible. Attendees have been asked not to bring weapons.

“We really want this to be a very uplifting, happy event of people coming together in a community to kind of try to erase and replace some of the bad memories,” she said.

Concerns about large political demonstrations remain heightened in Utah, where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was also assassinated during a speaking event last month.

Crackdown on protests

Trump’s crackdown against protests, especially in Democratic cities, has intensified since the June marches. He has since sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tenn. His efforts to deploy troops to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have stalled in federal court.

Organizers in Chicago are expecting tens of thousands of demonstrators at a popular Lake Michigan park, followed by a downtown march.

Federal immigration agents have arrested more than 1,000 people in Chicago, the nation’s third largest city, with increasingly aggressive tactics since September. Protests have been frequent and well attended in recent weeks, and have boiled over in intense clashes outside a suburban federal immigration processing center.

“People are angrier. It feels so much more immediate,” said Denise Poloyac with Indivisible Chicago. “They’re very concerned about what’s happening in Chicago and around the country.”

The “No Kings” organizers have led numerous virtual safety trainings leading up to the protests with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is listed as an official partner on the “No Kings” website.

The trainings informed viewers about their rights during protests — such as whether you are required to carry ID or if wearing a mask is allowed (both vary according to each state) — and emphasized de-escalation techniques for encounters with law enforcement.

Each official protest has a safety plan, which includes designated medics and emergency meeting spots.

Mixed response from elected officials

The protests have already drawn swift condemnation from some of the country’s top politicians, with House Speaker Mike Johnson dubbing the event the “Hate America rally” at a news conference on Wednesday.

Some state leaders, like Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, have decided to activate the National Guard ahead of the protests.

“Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property,” Abbott said in a statement.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom struck a more optimistic tone, saying he hopes Californians turn out in large numbers and remain peaceful. He said Trump “hopes there is disruption, there’s some violence” that he can exploit.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Juan A. Lozano in Houston, Texas; Terry Chea in San Francisco; and Sophia Tareen in Chicago.

By STEVE PEOPLES and LINLEY SANDERS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — More U.S. adults support President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict in Israel after he brokered a ceasefire deal in Gaza, a new AP-NORC poll finds — but his approval ratings on domestic issues remain weak.

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The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that Trump’s apparent success on the world stage has not yet improved his overall standing at home. In interviews, even some of his voters said he needs to do more to address issues such as the economy, health care and immigration.

“It’s kind of cool he’s bringing peace, but I’m like, ‘You kind of need to worry about your American people instead of bringing peace to the world first,’” said Justin Sanders, a 31-year-old Republican from Birmingham, Alabama, who voted twice for Trump.

“We need the inflation to go down,” added Sanders, who works as a driver for DoorDash. “I’m tired of sitting here struggling going day by day trying to figure out if I’m going to eat or not.”

The poll was conducted Oct. 9-13, before the hostages and prisoners were freed in Israel, but after the ceasefire deal was announced. The tenuous ceasefire in Gaza has held this week even as major questions remain about the U.S. plan for the region and whether the peace can be sustained.

At the same time, Trump faces major hurdles at home with a U.S. government shutdown now in its third week, prices remaining too high for many Americans and millions more impacted by health care cuts and hospital closures.

In the new poll, about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president overall, unchanged from September.

Trump’s approval on Israeli-Palestinian conflict rises

About half of U.S. adults, 47%, approve of how Trump is handling the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That’s an increase from 37% in September, and it’s driven primarily by Democrats viewing Trump more positively on this issue.

Jack Bornstein, of Alpharetta, Georgia, a 61-year-old independent who typically votes for Democrats, said he was pleased the Israeli hostages were released as part of the deal Trump helped negotiate.

“I give him credit for that. That’s probably the only thing I can say is positive for him,” Bornstein said, pointing to concerns about rising grocery prices, health care and Trump’s character.

President Donald Trump and other leaders gather for a family photo during a summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

However, separate AP-NORC polling from July indicates that Americans are much more likely to say domestic issues — such as the economy, health care, taxes, government spending and immigration — are “extremely” or “very” important to them as compared with the situation in the Middle East.

In the July poll, only about 4 in 10 said the Middle East was at least “very” important to them personally, compared with about 9 in 10 who said that about the economy.

Most disapprove of Trump’s handling of economy, immigration, health care

On domestic issues, Americans don’t believe that Trump is doing particularly well — even on immigration, a signature issue for the Republican president.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of the way Trump is handling immigration, which is in line with his September measure, but down slightly from the beginning of his second term.

On the economy, the chief concern for many, only about one-third of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance. The figure has stayed steady throughout his second term.

One of Trump’s weakest issues is health care, a topic that’s taken center stage during the ongoing government shutdown.

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump’s leadership on health care, in line with September. Almost all Democrats disapprove of his work on health care, but so do about 8 in 10 independents and about one-third of Republicans.

Alison Weaver, a 62-year-old independent from Roanoke, Virginia, said Trump’s second term has been “a debacle.”

She criticized his “gestapo tactics” on immigration and laughed out loud when asked about his performance on health care.

“It’s horrifying,” Weaver said.

Most say the country is going in the wrong direction

Trump’s domestic challenges come on the eve of a new election season in which voters in New Jersey and Virginia will elect new governors next month, while several other states will host municipal elections.

Trump’s weak numbers could create problems for Republican candidates who have been wary of distancing themselves from the GOP president. The new poll might also raise concerns for incumbents in either party, since about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say things in this country are heading in the wrong direction.

That’s down slightly from September, shortly after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, when about three-quarters of Americans said the country was going in the wrong direction. Republicans are less likely to say the country is headed in the wrong direction than they were last month, returning closer to levels before Kirk’s assassination. Democrats and independents have not changed significantly.

Dean Grace, a 73-year-old Democrat from Duluth, Minnesota, said he has very few positive things to say about Trump.

“I will give him some credit for the ceasefire, although claiming peace in the Middle East is a stretch,” he said. “My issues are that, as a Christian, I find nothing to agree with my president about morally.”

The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted Oct. 9-13, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Peoples reported from New York.