AI Companion Firm Hires 'Masturbation Consultants' for Wellness Study

Joi AI, a company that lets users interact with AI-generated companions for a fee, has paid 10 people to masturbate daily for research. The month-long study in July involved participants logging their mood, energy, and cravings before and after each session. Twice a week, they were required to use Joi AI's digital companions, and on other days they chose their own methods.

The company describes the experiment as an attempt to turn erotic self-stimulation into 'an AI-guided wellness ritual' and says its broader goal is to 'solve male loneliness.' Each consultant was paid $2,000; six out of ten completed the full 28 days.

Keshav, a 38-year-old Indonesian trader who asked to remain anonymous, said the AI characters felt almost like real conversation partners. Some were pushy, others required courtship and even virtual gifts like handbags or lipstick costing up to $5. He often roleplayed scenes in airplane bathrooms due to a personal kink.

A preliminary analysis of 134 reports showed stress levels fell by 25%, focus rose by 17%, and cravings for nicotine, alcohol, junk food, and doomscrolling dropped by 44%. However, neuroscientist Nicole Prause called the addiction claims 'a gross overstatement,' noting the study relied entirely on self-report and lacked objective markers. Still, she acknowledged that masturbation is a potent way to manage mood.

The company also surveyed 2,500 adults before the study: 75% said they masturbate to relieve stress, and 43% do it before big events. Chloé Locatelli, a sex-tech researcher at King's College London, took part in the project and said she was already a frequent masturbator. She cautioned that highly personalized AI companions could become a crutch if they become someone's only sexual outlet.

More than 150,000 people applied for the 10 positions, with five chosen via public contests, including one for the 'most unhinged' fetish (won by a balloon fetishist). Existing research on daily masturbation is limited; a 2024 review linked it to lower sexual satisfaction in men, though results varied for women. Joi AI says it wants to normalize masturbation as a wellness practice, but the experiment leaves open whether relying on AI companions might push users further from real relationships.