Vatican’s Anime-Style Mascot Quickly Turns Into AI Porn Trend - 1

Image by Ash_Arashi, from Civitai

Vatican’s Anime-Style Mascot Quickly Turns Into AI Porn Trend

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Luce, inspired by Japanese animation, aims to engage younger generations in Catholic culture.
  • Some images portray Luce in compromising scenarios due to customizable AI model features.
  • Luce’s childlike appearance raises concerns, especially in explicit, AI-generated content.

In an unexpected turn of events following the launch of a new Catholic Church mascot, online communities have taken to creating explicit AI-generated images of the character, as first reported by 404Media .

Launched last week as the official mascot for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year celebrations and the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, Luce is a cartoon character inspired by Japanese animation.

The initiative, led by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, aimed to foster a connection with younger generations. Fisichella explained at the launch that Luce was “created from the desire to enter into the world of pop culture, so beloved by our young people,” as first reported by Sky News .

However, shortly after her debut, Luce has sparked controversy as users on platforms like Civitai, a popular AI model-sharing site, have created explicit images using AI models based on her likeness.

Although the models themselves are not explicitly designed for adult content, Civitai’s customizable features allow users to combine AI models in ways that yield explicit images, as noted by 404Media.

According to 404Media, one of the models, titled Luce – Vatican’s Mascot [PONY] , contains numerous user-generated images depicting Luce in compromising scenarios.

The deeper issue goes beyond the stark contrast between Luce’s innocent, official image and the explicit online content. The character’s perceived age is particularly concerning.

Although the Vatican has not specified Luce’s age, her youthful, childlike appearance in official images has been replicated in some of the explicit AI-generated content on Civitai. This aspect of her portrayal raises serious ethical concerns regarding the use and depiction of the mascot.

So far, the Vatican has not issued any statement addressing Luce’s intended age or the explicit content circulating online.

Perplexity To Reach A $9 Billion Valuation Amid NTY Controversy - 2

Photo by Headway on Unsplash

Perplexity To Reach A $9 Billion Valuation Amid NTY Controversy

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • An anonymous source confirmed Perplexity is about to close a $500 million deal that would value the AI company at $9 billion
  • The New York Times is currently in a legal battle against Perplexity
  • Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, offered the company’s AI services to the journal to compensate for striking tech workers, intensifying the debate

The AI-powered search company Perplexity is set to raise $500 million in a new funding round that would value the company at $9 billion.

According to Reuters , an anonymous source familiar with the matter with the matter confirmed the information.

The rumors of Perplexity raising $500 million had been spreading for the past few days. This time, it has been confirmed that the funding round is being led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and that it is at its final stage.

In January, after a series B funding where the AI startup raised $73.6, the company was valued at $520 million. After multiple funding rounds this year, Perplexity’s valuation has skyrocketed to an estimated $9 billion after this new round deal.

However, the company has engaged in disputes with the New York Times (NYT). Last month, the news company issued a cease-and-desist letter against Perplexity , accusing the startup of plagiarism and copyright violation.

According to Tech Crunch , on Monday, the New York Times tech workers went on strike after the newspaper refused to meet their demands—like an annual 2.5% wage increase and a two-day a week in office requirement, and Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity’s CEO, jumped in the discussion suggesting to help the newspaper replaced workers’ tasks with their AI tool.

“Hey AG Sulzberger @nytimes – sorry to see this. Perplexity is on standby to help ensure your essential coverage is available to all through the election. DM me anytime here,” wrote Srinivas from his verified X account , addressing Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, NYT’s chairman, for his message of being disappointed in the journalists who went on strike during election week.

Many users attacked and criticized Srinivas for stepping on the discussion and offering AI replacement. Perplexity’s CEO had to clarify his intentions: “The offer was not to ‘replace’ journalists or engineers with AI but to provide technical infra support on a high-traffic day.”