The future of Sex – When we think of how the future will look like, the common idea we usually have is to imagine automated self-driving cars as well as AI robots that will take over the job from humans facilitating our activities and lifestyle throughout their advanced technologies. But have you ever thought about how these new and ever-growing technologies could impact on sex and sexuality, one of the most basic and natural human desire?
Don’t panic, the classic vis-à-vis version will continue to stay and will fortunately remain in vogue. However, internet and robotic technologies are becoming more and more interesting in a market in which many adults look for a different or, at least, more accessible type of pleasure.
At the beginning of the digital age, cybersex was the new tendency. Spicy chats have become increasingly hot with the advent of webcams and video calls. Currently, the arrival of smartphones and free instant messaging services have legitimized “sexting”, the most common online way of having sex with your lover. But the cybersex and sexting era is already over…
The SexTech revolution
As the digital age progresses and new technologies grow at the fastest rate ever, it is clear that the sex industry has to keep in step with the times and develop accordingly. This is the reason for which the SexTech industry (a combination of both sex and technology businesses) and its new software will radically change the way people enjoy their sexuality, either individually or with a partner. Forget about the classic methods of experiencing sex, this new world will open up possibilities that you never thought could be possible! For example, have you ever dreamt about having sex with your ex or with a celebrity? Well, thanks to the SexTech innovations, your desire could become reality.
In some ways, our society has already had a taste of some SexTech features in the covid-19 pandemic. Sexually oriented video calls and online interactions have grown exponentially; companies have developed sex toys such as remote-controlled dildos or customizable sex dolls with innovative heating systems that simulate a real person’s breath. We can say that the future is already here.
But what else can we expect? The question can be answered by Future of Sex, a publication that focuses on sex related issues throughout an in-depth analysis on how we live and communicate taking into consideration the technology evolutions. The website has recently published a report with an overview of what we can expect in the future years, providing some really interesting and surprising outcomes.
Elements such as interface software with individual erotic personalities, fake interactive vaginas (some already exist in the market) or an automaton with the image of famous celebrities are just a small taste of what is yet to come. Here’s everything the report mentions about the SexTech scene:
ROBOTS:
- Robotic sex guru
- Virtual assistants with erotic personalities
- Interactive genitals and artificial skin
- Sex dolls with AI technology
- Robotic sex therapists
- Cyber impersonator of famous celebrities
DISTANCE & VIRTUAL SEX:
- Remote kissing devices
- 3D printed and smartphone-controlled sex toys
- Hologram telepresence of the whole body
- Live erotic webcam shows with tactile technology
- Sexual avatars
- Live erotic fantasies
- Relationship and occasional long-distance relationships
- Online multiplayer sex games
- Engaging sex education
And what about the metaverse?
If these SexTech elements impressed you, wait until you see what sex will look like in one of the most disruptive technological innovations of our century, the metaverse. Don’t know what we’re talking about? Well, see this as an internet’s evolution, a parallel reality made up by the interconnection of both virtual and physical worlds, populated by avatars that are the virtual representation of yourself. If you now feel a bit confused and maybe scared about this, that’s perfectly normal. But be ready to get familiar with this new world soon, as it’s closer to us than what you think.
Someone that could tell us more about this is Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook’s founder recently changed the name of his business to “Meta” and he announced to the world he was working on constructing his own metaverse. In his announcement video, you could see the avatars doing human-type things such as going to concerts and speaking to one another. Every avatar is a real person in their own house, wearing VR glasses. Within the metaverse, they can interact with other people as if they were in the same place.
But how far can this kind of interaction go? Could sex be possible in the metaverse, and if yes, how could it work?
As of today, it is not possible to have sex in the metaverse in the same way we know it in real life. But still, this is already a part of the online world but in a different way. Think about Second Life, an online game founded in 2003 on which users could interact with one another in a parallel world. In some of the game rooms users can express and experiment their sexual fantasies throughout their own avatar. The problem for online “sex seekers” is that Second Life is not a Virtual Reality game, there’s not the same sense of participation and users limit themselves to chat, listen to audios and play with their avatar.
Could this change in the metaverse?
As of today, the experience of sexual pleasure as we know it is still not possible in the metaverse. Unfortunately, there is still no virtual universe in which avatars can masturbate with sex toys or have the capability of experiencing an orgasm. Nonetheless, sex toy companies are starting to release their first collection of vibrators as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Although these will currently be nothing more than decorative objects, it is likely they will be integrated as “real” masturbation items for avatars in the future. Some research is underway to develop an artificial skin which, when it’s placed on our real skin, will allow us to feel what is happening in virtual reality.
In pornography and in virtual reality, interaction between avatars will not be limited to the virtual sphere, but it could include other sensory channels such as virtual touch, kinesthesia and virtual smell. This could offer users a more interactive and realistic virtual experience, providing them with a greater sense of “presence”. There are also many well-known adult dating sites that are working on developing social interactivity, which could change the way we relate to each other in the future.
What to expect in the future then?
If on one hand we can all agree that sex in the future will surely have different and more artificial variations than the ones we are used to, the impact that these new forms of sex could have on society are surely more questionable. Technology advancements are always crucial in our modern society, especially if they deliver innovations such as new virtual sex tools, we can all benefit from. However, the abuse and misuse of these many elements that are set to disrupt the market shortly could lead to a possible alienation from human contact, as people will have a much greater offer of virtual and long-distance sexual devices.
It is difficult to know how and at what speed the market will develop and what its social effects will be. In other words, it may be still too early to understand if SexTech will simply be a niche or if it will radically change the habits and rules of society becoming a mass phenomenon. Anyhow, one thing that we can be sure about when it comes to the future is that sex and sexual fantasies will always be an innate desire for human beings.
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