120,000 people applied for this very NSFW “hottest vacancy in AI right now”

One AI company’s latest opening for a consultant role is anything but a standard tech job. When AI companion company Joi AI posted a callout for “masturbation consultants,” Julie Levin, the company’s head of brand, says she expected to receive a few hundred applications. The consultant would be tasked with testing Joi AI’s new Daily Guided Masturbation feature and document its effects on their stress, sleep and mood—all for $2,000 per month. Two weeks later, more than 120,000 applications have rolled in, and the number keeps climbing. The original link to the application broke from the amount of responses. People can now apply via a Google Form, and the application deadline just got extended by another week. Levin says the company is hoping to recruit 10 people of different genders, age groups and sexual orientations. They’re interested in hiring the oldest person who applies for the gig, though the team has yet to scrape through the avalanche of applications. As of now, Levin says most applicants are men in their 20s—but that thousands of women have applied, too. “I think it started as a joke,” Levin says. “So it went viral when people came to our Twitter account and started tagging their bros saying, ‘employment is calling your name.’” Joi AI’s original announcement on X now has more than 23.8 million impressions—most people seemed stunned by the role, while others seemed more excited to apply. (One person on X commented: “This is literally my area of specialty. Where do I apply?”; another joked: “Parents are going to be so excited I finally got a job!”) While some applications seem rushed, Levin describes reviewing applications from some surprisingly credentialed individuals, including stand-up comedians, sommeliers who “know how to describe things” and sex workers with years of phone sex experience. AI companionship has turned into a booming business. Last year, the AI companion market was estimated at $36.79 billion and is expected to reach $317.96 billio