Link: The cursed world of AI kiss and hug apps

Doomscrolling on TikTok often leads to encountering ads for AI video apps that manipulate images to fulfill benign or unsettling fantasies. These ads promise the transformation of ordinary photos into scenarios where users can digitally interact with others, usually in ways that are more eerie than impressive.

In one typical ad, a simple photo upload results in a video where the user appears to be kissing their crush, while another suggests altering a woman's attire to a bikini, using an AI-driven application.

Despite the ostensibly harmless fun, many of these apps cross into discomforting territory, offering templates for suggestive animations or unrealistic body modifications.

These applications are easy to access and operate; users can modify images at the click of a button after paying subscription fees that range substantially.

Behind these apps are obscure companies that often remain unresponsive to inquiries about their questionable services.

Although the technology can produce seemingly innocuous content like hair color changes or digital hugs, it frequently veers into problematic areas.

This includes issues like racial biases in generated videos and the sexualization of digital interactions that users might find amusing or acceptable within fictional settings.

The deeper societal implications and the personal experiences of people using these apps vary widely.

From innocent fun to deep personal resonance, like digitally reanimating deceased loved ones, the outputs of these apps reflect complex human desires and ethical dilemmas not yet fully understood or regulated. #

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