Navigating Identity in the Age of AI

As someone who grew up with the Internet, I’ve occasionally found myself in strange corners of it. But more often than not, I’ve walked away from those experiences with more knowledge than before, and a constant reminder to stay open-minded.

So when I stumbled upon Adelyn Moore, an escort who charges $3000 per hour and tweets about using AI for sex work, I wanted to learn more. In our candid and thought-provoking interview, Adelyn - a self-described "autistic courtesan" - offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of modern sex work and its intersection with technology.

As the adult industry grapples with the rise of AI-generated content and "digital girlfriends," Adelyn sheds light on the complex interplay between authenticity, technology, and human connection. Her experiences challenge common assumptions about sex work and reveal how the world’s oldest profession can leverage its newest technology.

“When choosing a profession, I took the Lindy Effect literally.”

– Adelyn Moore

Three key takeaways

AI-generated adult content still struggles with realism. While there are attempts to create ever more realistic AI porn, the current technology still struggles to produce convincingly realistic images and videos.

The skin doesn't look real. The video quality at AI right now is mediocre. Image generation always looks weird - it looks like hentai often. It's not like at a point right now where it's good enough in the ways that you can actually be like utilized.

Likewise, imperfection and "realness" are increasingly valued in the adult industry. As “perfect” photos and videos become more prevalent, there's a growing appreciation for content that shows authenticity and flaws.

A lot of times I'll just disregard [online] photos because I'm like, “Okay, this photo just looks too manicured.” It's just boring. There's this heightened level of sensitivity because people see so little of just being messy.

I have a video on my OnlyFans where I'm awkwardly… like, I wish I could do a sexy thing where I like rip open a condom with my teeth and I'm just trying and I'm like, I can't. I don't know if that's particularly sexy. But I like that stuff.

The escort-client relationship offers a unique form of intimacy that may be difficult to automate away. The controlled environment and strict boundaries of these interactions allow for a rare level of openness and vulnerability than in other social contexts.

When I first started [escorting], I thought it was always interesting how like people would tell me stuff that like, they were honest, that they didn't tell anyone else in their lives.

…

People often have a certain amount of vulnerability with me immediately. It's also this weird thing where it's, you have this parasocial relationship because they've met me and they've often people will be like, “I've been following you for like a year. I've been following you on Twitter for like months,” or like the fact that people will be like “I created a special anon account just to follow you.” And it's just that you immediately have this degree of intimacy that I have not seen replicated in any other part of my life.

And three things you might not know:

* Escorts hang out on social media just like everyone else; that thirst trap you’re scrolling past might actually be content marketing.

* While most text-to-image generators like Midjourney have strict filters on nudity and adult content, other projects are working diligently to enable fully uncensored AI images.

* Sex workers can perform pretty thorough background checks and screening on potential clients - including requiring IDs, phone numbers, and LinkedIn profiles.

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