This AI company scans penis pictures for STIs. Its unproven tech is in an FDA gray zone

Artificial intelligence is already assessing decay in your teeth, abnormalities in your heart rhythm, and suspicious spots on your skin. Now, at least one company is betting that you will let it take a look at your penis.

The company is called HeHealth, and co-founders Mei Ling Lu and Yudara Kularathne claim that their AI model can detect a range of sexually transmitted infections from a single snapshot of one’s genitals. 

HeHealth, which is meant for people with penises, launched in 2022. Last week, the team launched a separate platform called Calmara, earnestly marketed to Gen Z women who may want to put their partner’s penis to an AI test before sex. “Pics vanish quicker than Snapchat,” the website cheerily proclaims. “So yeah, your secrets? They’re locked in our crypt, no trace, no trail,” it continues, more hauntingly.

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