Is prostitution out now sex robots are in?

Photo credit: Pixabay.

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“AI is going to have a huge impact on the way we live our lives over time. This is not isolated to sex dolls. If they become more than just a sex toy, it will do so at the same pace that humanity’s relationship with technology changes across the board.” Kit, a sex worker from Australia said. But with sex dolls being fitted with new AI technology, making them more life-like, and AI sex dolls becoming cheaper as the technology becomes more popular, men who use them are claiming they offer companionship, as well as sexual pleasure. Could prostitution be out now sex robots are in?

In modern England, working as a prostitute in private is not an offense. Working in a brothel is legal too, street prostitution however, is still illegal. Although it is no longer illegal to work as a prostitute, public opinion is split on whether paying for sex is ‘acceptable’. An Ipsos-Mori poll conducted in July and August 2008, showed that 61 per cent of women and 42 per cent of men thought that paying for sex was "unacceptable", while 65 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men said selling sex was "unacceptable".

Photo credit: Pixabay, the red light district in the Netherlands.

Although half the public may recoil in fear of the idea of selling sex, it is still a booming market that plenty of men visit and plenty of women earn money from. But something else has propped up on men’s radar, and its AI sex dolls. Not only are men purchasing the dolls for themselves, but some are paying to visit sex doll brothels. Sex doll brothels have been popping up across Europe in the past year, countries with sex doll brothels in are; France, Spain, England, Netherlands and Germany.

Bordoll, was the first sex doll brothel to open in Germany and sees an average of seven visitors a day. Bordoll claims that dolls are merely “an oversized sex toy.” But others would disagree. Renowned journalist, Johanna Leggatt claims that: “Their emergence and increasing sophistication points to something darker and deeper within our culture, a retreat from the ideal of gender equality toward a desire for sex with subjugation as an optional add-on. They have no agency or back-story, nothing to suggest independence or anything that may disrupt the fantasy of total servitude.”

Photo credit: Bordoll, one of the sex dolls they offer.

Recently, protesters have been asking for the sex doll brothel Xdolls, in Paris, to be shut. Lorraine Questiaux of the feminist group, Nest Movement, has argued that they are making money from “simulating the rape of a woman.” Local police in the area say that although it poses moral questions, it is not illegal.

These new, modern dolls allow buyers to customise it to be their idea of a perfect women. From the colour and size of her nipples. But now? You get the chance to pick her personality too.

Photo credit: Abyss Creations, Matt McMullen creating Harmony.

Manufacturer Abyss Creations, has come up with the world’s first AI sex doll. The doll named Harmony, is customised by an app. The AI technology allows you to customise your dolls personality and memory, which allows her to ask you more defined questions. Once you are happy with Harmony’s personality on the app, which you can download to any smartphone or tablet, the information will connect to the robotic part in her skull, creating your dream woman. Harmony can withhold so much information that she can also “be in a ‘mood’” or be “turned on”. In the past year, sex doll manufacturers have concentrated on creating AI sex dolls, which cost around $15,000, but customisation can amp up the price. Maxim have created Solana and Synthea Amatus have created Samantha. With the cost of the technology going down and prices for the dolls decreasing, it won’t be long until these sex robots become household objects.

“It offers the illusion of companionship.” Paul, The Doll House owner.

Purchases of dolls have sky-rocketed since the 90’s, when radio host, Howard Stern, bought one and had sex with it live on air. Sex dolls are no longer seen as the blow-up dolls stuffed in Del Boy’s van, but a sophisticated, innovative piece of technology. For many men, sex dolls perform two things, firstly, it provides them with sexual pleasure. Secondly, it makes them feel less lonely. The same reasons many men see sex workers.

Paul, who owns The Doll House and is a doll user said; “Something that always surprise’s people is the companionship they give. It’s not just sexual pleasure.” Real Love Sex Dolls also believes that these dolls don’t just offer sexual pleasure; “Loneliness is universal and the need for companionship is a desire we all share. We sell many dolls for this purpose.” Psychologist, Dr. Peter Kanaris emphasises the need for human interaction, telling Vice: “After basic needs such as eating, drinking, and breathing, the drive to be sexual and connected to others may be considered the next most important. There may be a risk for some people who develop long-term relationships with their dolls as an avoidance of live relationships."

Photo credit: Pixabay, outside a sex doll shop in Amsterdam, the red light district.

Despite the fact that many men who use dolls say that they get the same sexual pleasure and a level of companionship with the dolls, sex workers are not worried their jobs might be taken by robot sex dolls.

Sex worker, Asha believes that sex dolls brothels are not the same as a sex worker: “I wouldn’t consider them to be even remotely similar. Robots and sex dolls provide physical stimulation but little more. They have no say, no control and no interest in the person operating them. Sex workers provide much more than passive sexual contact.” Fellow sex worker, Kit, claims; “I am unique, as all sex workers are, and I choose to share parts of myself with my clients. This experience doesn’t overlap with what sex doll brothels currently offer.” Mistress Emelia believes: “you'd be better comparing users of sex robots with users of masturbation sleeves, because sex robots truly are just glorified masturbation sleeves.”

Although sex workers and sex dolls are two very different things now, the future may look different. In a 2016 study led by the University of Duisburg-Essen, it found that 40 per cent of the 263 heterosexual men surveyed said they could imagine buying a sex robot for themselves now or in the next five years. When Matt McMullen, the creator of Harmony, was interviewed by The Guardian he was asked if he thought people would one day use sex robots instead of prostitutes, “the question offended him. “Yes, but that’s probably last on my list of goals. This is not a toy to me, this is the actual hard work of people who have PhDs. And to denigrate it down to its simplest form of a sex object is similar to saying that about a woman.””