Human Contractors Are Seeing All Your Horny — and Creepy — AI Prompts

AI users are increasingly utilizing chatbots to generate explicit content, but the privacy of these prompts is at risk. According to a report by 404 Media, hundreds of human contractors hired to improve Microsoft's Copilot AI are reviewing users' image editing prompts and the photos they upload. These contractors were instructed to evaluate the effectiveness of the prompts, such as whether the AI enlarged a woman's breasts appropriately. However, they were not supposed to judge the ethical implications of the requests.

Some contractors reported being inundated with sexually explicit and disturbing prompts, including upskirt photos of women, women in sexual scenarios, and even prompts involving children's cartoon characters and shortening real women's skirts. Workers claimed they were asked to view uncensored faces and dubiously consensual scenarios. One contractor described recoiling after reviewing pro-anorexia content, while another saw a prompt intended to create a lewd image of young girls.

Although the contractors were expected to rely on their "intuition" to assess the prompts, many were unaware that they would be exposed to such disturbing content. One worker complained about the lack of warning before viewing these requests, while another questioned the nature of their job, expressing concern over whether the prompts were focused on generating porn. The report highlights the hidden human element employed by AI companies to run and improve their technology, which is not made clear to the public.