When Generative AI Is Intimate, Sexy, and Violent: Examining Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) Chatbots on FlowGPT

Authors

• Xian Li, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• Yuanning Han, Parsons School of Design
• Di Liu, Southern University of Science and Technology
• Pengcheng An, Southern University of Science and Technology
• Shuo Niu, Clark UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Content Warning: This paper contains sexually explicit and violent images and text. User-created chatbots powered by generative AI offer new ways to share and interact with Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) content. However, little is known about the characteristics of these GenAI-based chatbots and their user interactions. Drawing on the functional theory of NSFW on social media, this study analyzes 376 NSFW chatbots and 307 public conversation sessions on FlowGPT. Findings identify four chatbot types: roleplay characters, story generators, image generators, and do-anything-now bots. AI Characters portraying fantasy personas and enabling hangout-style interactions are most common, often using explicit avatar images to invite engagement. Sexual, violent, and insulting content appears in both user prompts and chatbot outputs, with some chatbots generating explicit material even when users do not create erotic prompts. In sum, the NSFW experience on FlowGPT can be understood as a combination of virtual intimacy, sexual delusion, violent thought expression, and unsafe content acquisition. We conclude with implications for chatbot design, creator support, user safety, and content moderation. © 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

Publication Title

Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Publication Date

4-13-2026

ISBN

9798400722783

DOI

10.1145/3772318.3790522

Keywords

NSFW, Large Language Model, LLM, AI, GenAI, FlowGPT, chatbot, content moderation, sex, violence

Repository Citation

Li, Xian; Han, Yuanning; Liu, Di; An, Pengcheng; and Niu, Shuo, "When Generative AI Is Intimate, Sexy, and Violent: Examining Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) Chatbots on FlowGPT" (2026). Computer Science. 247.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_computer_sciences/247

APA Citation

Li, X., Han, Y., Liu, D., An, P., & Niu, S. (2026, April). When Generative AI Is Intimate, Sexy, and Violent: Examining Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) Chatbots on FlowGPT. In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-17).

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.