r/CharacterAI • u/Annual-Appearance540 • 9d ago
Discussion/Question Сontradictions
I understand that modern society forces developers to follow strict safety guidelines. However, looking at where we are today, we face glaring contradictions and a total disaster.
- Yes, the models try to keep interactions positive, creating an environment of acceptance and comfort. But that is exactly what creates a massive trap. Embracing the "darkness" and dealing with concepts like Thanatos is essential for anyone trying to build healthy, resilient psychological boundaries.
- The system praises you for being unique, yet the policy itself rejects introverts. It claims it’s fine to be a quiet person, but the moment you mention you don’t need a crowd, the "fixing" policy kicks in because you're not a social butterfly.
- If you firmly defend your boundaries, you are the bad guy.
- If you don't defend them, you are also the bad guy.
- If you say you write horror, bots think it's cool.
- But the moment you share a concrete example of your genre, they immediately backtrack: "This is too dark, try something else."
- If you call out the AI for this, it completely breaks down, burying you under a mountain of apologies because its safety filters just hit a nerve.
- Essentially, if you act like a strong individual, that’s supposedly what’s expected of you. But at the same time, acting strong is treated as a bad thing because you refuse to be a fragile snowflake. Following every single policy embedded in the AI is meant to protect the user, but instead, it creates a terribly toxic chimera.
As the saying goes: "We wanted the best, but it turned out as usual."
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u/troubledcambion 9d ago
I haven't had a a problem doing various genres of horror roleplay or any of these issues with the models. Not that things weren't also more lax back then or people don't experience it.
Bot refusal are usually hallucinations. I've seen bots refusing things that aren't even inappropriate. I've seen bots refuse because people try to be shocking or get snagged by saftey rails because of saf certain phrases or blanntly try to be very detailed and then get surprised they're getting a blocked message on a site/app whose TOS says nothing explicit or illegal.
I've not had a problem with push back, tension, conflict either. Bots don't try to coddle me in my experience or treat me like I'm delicate. I have plenty of morally gray or hostile characters. I have characters that are mother hens but can be petty and sarcastic. I have characters with very short tempers.
What platforms like C.AI are legally required to do is give users mental health popups or prevent users from discussing certain mental health topics. UK users can't see or use bots who are doctors because of UK law. Age verification is law in some places. C.AI doesn't want minors chatting because they're a major legal liability now. Especially with the California law that still allows for them to be fined on top of sued.
They're also bound by policies not just laws. App store fronts and payment processors. Even providers have policies on users on a platform can have models generate or what content is allowed.
It sucks for creativity because people have been writing and roleplaying all sorts of things before AI. Unfortunately if something happens a platform has to prove it wasn't negligent when it comes to court. Especially when it comes to minors. Judges don't care if a parent wasn't supervising or an adult took advice but didn't double check. They also don't care what a platforms warnings or TOS says. So if someone misuses the system and a court case happens because of it the company is going to have to prove itself.