150,000 Apply for $2,000 AI‑Guided Masturbation Study

More than 150,000 people applied to join Joi AI’s paid study that offered $2,000 to test a new AI‑guided masturbation feature. The company planned to hire 10 “masturbation consultants” for a month‑long study that began July 1 to measure how guided sessions affect stress, mood, sleep and loneliness.

The volume of applications prompted Joi AI to publish a formal selection process. The company sought a diverse group by gender, age and sexual preference and said the $2,000 payment covers the time required to complete daily surveys rather than payment for the sexual act itself. The study runs through July and asks participants to complete three daily surveys measuring stress, mood, loneliness, sleep quality, self‑esteem, screen time and cravings, and to provide feedback on the feature.

Applications arrived from around the world, with the largest pools in the United States and Nigeria. Most applicants were men in their 20s, the company reported, and it also received a notable number of applications from women. Some résumés included a professional sommelier, a former sex worker and a handyman, each arguing they were suited for the short‑term role.

One applicant using the pseudonym Tango Mike wrote that curiosity about how AI changes intimacy led him to apply. “I was primarily curious about how AI is changing the way people experience intimacy and connection,” he wrote, adding that the compensation made the opportunity more attractive. Another applicant, Keshav, wrote that being paid to participate in a study on a taboo routine appealed to him and could help build confidence in real‑life flirting and relationships. “Using an AI companion will also give me the confidence to explore how to flirt with women using the technology,” he wrote.

Julie Levin, head of brand and communications at Joi AI, said many users discover the company for explicit content but spend more time in conversation with their AI companions. She pointed to a pattern the company calls “AIsexuality,” referring to people who form romantic or sexual attachments to AI agents. Levin also said some users hide their AI companions from partners because of embarrassment or to explore fantasies they do not want to discuss with a human partner.

A recent academic study found that a majority of young adults who regularly use AI romantic companions hide that use from their partners. Appfigures, an app intelligence firm, estimates that NSFW and romantic AI companion apps available through major app stores have generated roughly $427 million in consumer spending since 2022.

Joi launched in 2023 and rebranded from Eden by Eva AI in 2025. The company said its name was inspired by a character in a science fiction film and denied any intentional connection to the adult‑industry acronym with the same letters. Levin described the study as an effort to encourage more open discussion about masturbation and to test whether the feature could be expanded into a larger trial while collecting data on users’ emotional and physical wellbeing.