Robotic Sex Machines

In their paper — Robots, Men And Sex Tourism — Ian Yeoman and Michelle Mars of Victoria Management School in Wellington, imagine what the sex industry will be like in the future. The year is 2050 and a group of men are heading to an imaginary brothel called Yub-Yum in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. But when they get there, instead of being met by a young woman, they are seen by an entirely different host: a robot. The production and use of lifelike pleasure machines could effectively halt the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as stem the increase in human trafficking associated with the sex trade. At the imaginary Yub-Yum, the researchers say: “All androids are made of bacteria resistant fibre … guaranteeing no sexually transmitted diseases are transferred between consumers.” Robots, Men and Sex Tourism appears in the current issue of the journal Futures.