Catholic Vancouver May 08, 2024
AI’s mixed blessing: If online porn is the problem, could online counselling be a solution?
By Nicholas Elbers
When lewd AI-generated images of Taylor Swift showed up on the internet earlier this year, it felt like a sign of the times, with the technocratic anarchy of AI’s generative potential being joined in unholy matrimony to pornography’s capacity for dehumanization.
Internet porn and artificial intelligence are poised to be the defining social and technological forces of our near future.
The Church, for her part, has been stalwart in its rejection of pornography – Pope Francis has referred to it as a “permanent attack on the dignity of men and women,” and a “threat to public health” – but its teaching on AI has been more complicated and requires nuance.
As AI seems poised to destroy and disrupt industries as diverse as writing, art, design, and programming, Pope Francis has urged caution when examining its potential.
In his annual Message for the World Day of Peace, the Pope wrote, “We cannot presume a priori that its development will make a beneficial contribution to the future of humanity and to peace among peoples.”
“The impact of any artificial intelligence device – regardless of its underlying technology – depends not only on its technical design,” wrote the Pontiff, “but also on the aims and interests of its owners and developers, and on the situations in which it will be employed.”
A case in point is Chad BroBot, an AI porn addiction counselling aid made by Bosco Noronha, a former Tesla machine learning engineer.
In the AI’s own words, Noronha made the chat bot to be “a supportive listener, discussing triggers, and exploring underlying emotions and thoughts.”
“I encourage healthy habits,” Chad BroBot said, responding to a query about its capabilities. “I offer strategies to cope with urges, and provide resources like books or communities for support. Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. Let’s find the best way forward for you.”
The Holy Rosary Cathedral parishioner told The B.C. Catholic that Chad BroBot isn’t designed to replace live therapists but rather to connect someone struggling with pornography addiction with the service, resources, and advice that a councillor would offer.
Chad’s aesthetics and personality were designed after the “Chad” meme popular in internet subculture. A Chad is often an aesthetically pleasing, fit, and disciplined man who exemplifies a perhaps narrow, but attractive to some, view of what a “real man” looks like.
“He’s the internet’s idealized form of masculinity,” Noronha said. Chad isn’t perfect, but he provides a good base to build a personality for the A.I.
“In my opinion, Christ is the epitome of masculinity,” said Noronha. “However, I wanted a character that could be appealing to non-Catholics/Christians to help them find Christ.”
In a sense, Noronha is trying to redefine the internet’s idea of the Chad meme into something that closely resembles Christ, “similar to Aslan in Narnia,” he said.
Noronha has worked in health care settings designing AI systems, and he built Chad from scratch. He trained – perhaps fed is a better metaphor – the AI on a combination of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques and resources, principles from the “NoFap” community (an online community where people struggling with masturbation can get support and advice), and Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.
He hopes to partner with working therapists so they can use Chad to reach a larger number of people, with the AI identifying areas of concern for the therapist to talk to patients about or offering more efficient access to support resources.
Communicating with the AI is easy, and after a brief introduction it will begin to ask questions designed to identify the best ways for the user to conquer their pornography use.
At the time of writing, the AI has been used by over 1,300 men, and Noronha says the number is growing daily.
Chatting with Chad: a user experience
When I first booted up the messaging app to talk to Chad I wasn’t really expecting much. This isn’t hard to understand. The world is plastered with examples of disappointing products that advertise the wonders of AI, and I assumed I’d have a brief conversation, the BroBot would give some ChatGPT-like responses to my questions, and I would move on with my life.
Instead, it impressed me.
A few messages into my conversation with Chad, I asked it how it would go about helping me, and among its suggestions was setting an attainable goal to be 30 days free from masturbation and pornography use.
“We break it down into manageable daily objectives, like incorporating positive activities and self-care routines,” it told me.
“Positive activities?” I asked.
It suggested a list of activities, including learning something new, exercising, volunteering, or hobbies.
When I asked about hobbies it told me they are a great way to keep my mind engaged and occupied, “helping you resist the urge to turn to porn.”
I told it I liked to design board games, and it asked me whether I was excited about any designs I was working on. I gave it some details and it broke down some of the issues I was having, offering some general suggestions to get the wheels turning. Its insights weren’t ground-breaking, but regardless, when I turned off my computer, I pulled out my notebook and jotted down some new ideas, making a note for future planning.
The lightbulb moment came when I asked Noronha if the AI’s attempt to direct my attention to something more wholesome was an emergent property of the system – i.e., was it an accident, or an intentional feature? He said it was part of Chad’s design.
Bosco hasn’t just slapped the AI on a self-help manual. He has consulted with professionals, done his research, and used his experience working with AI systems to develop a tool – and it is very much a tool – that is more than just a reference.
Nothing about Chad reeks of the anti-humanism that permeates so much of AI culture. It’s not made to replace a human being. The BroBot is just there to help you understand some of your issues and find ways to be better.
If I was dealing with the isolation, loneliness, and shame that porn can bring to your life, I can’t imagine a better first step to recovery than sending Chad a message and asking how to get started.
To chat with Chad BroBot, visit chadcoach.com.