Robojiggalos: The future of sex tourism.

Virtual sex. Once thought of as science fiction is now science fact thanks to a bunch of pervy nerds.
Chat rooms, sex videogames, and inventions like the IPAD fleshlight case bring us closer and closer to the kind of virtual sex we see in films like A.I. Even now we possess technology similar to Caprica’s Holobands minus the neuro stimulation.

So what’s the next step? According to futurist, Dr. Ian Yeoman and sexologist Dr. Michelle Mars the answer is robotic prostitutes.

In their recently published paper, Robots, Men, and Sex Tourism, Yeoman and Mars offer a vivid and futuristic picture of what they hope to see in the sex trade industry by 2050 using the now closed Dutch brothel, Yab-Yum in Amsterdam as an example.

The Yub-Yum is Amsterdam’s top sex club for business travelers located beside a 17th century canal house on the Singel. It is modern and gleaming with about 100 scantily clad blondes and brunettes parading around in exotic G-strings and lingerie. Entry costs $10,000 for an all inclusive service. The club offers a full range of sexual services from massages, lap dancing and intercourse in plush surroundings. The Yub-Yum is a unique bordello licensed by the city council, staffed not by humans but by androids. This situation came about due to an increase in human trafficking in the sex industry in the 2040s which was becoming unsustainable, combined with an increase in incurable STI’s in the city especially HIV which over the last decade has mutated and is resistant to many vaccines and preventive medicines. Amsterdam’s tourist industry is built on an image of sex and drugs. The council was worried that if the red light district were to close, it would have a detrimental effect on the city’s brand and tourism industry, as it seemed unimaginable for the city not to have a sex industry. Sex tourism is a key driver for stag parties and the convention industry.

The Yub-Yum offers a range of sexual gods and goddesses of different ethnicities, body shapes, ages, languages and sexual features. The club is often rated highly by punters on www.punternet.com and for the fifth year in a row, in 2049 was voted the world’s best massage parlor by the UN World Tourism Organization. The club has won numerous technology and innovation awards including the prestigious ISO iRobotSEX award. The most popular model is Irina, a tall, blonde, Russian exotic species who is popular with Middle Eastern businessmen. The tourists who use the services of Yub-Yum are guaranteed a wonderful and thrilling experience, as all the androids are programmed to perform every service and satisfy every desire.

All androids are made of bacteria resistant fiber and are flushed for human fluids, therefore guaranteeing no Sexual Transmitted Disease’s are transferred between consumers. The impact of Yub-Yum club and similar establishments in Amsterdam has transformed the sex industry alleviating all health and human trafficking problems. The only social issues surrounding the club is the resistance from human sex workers who say they can’t compete on price and quality, therefore forcing many of them to close their shop windows. All in all, the regeneration of Amsterdam’s sex industry has been about the success of the new breed of sex worker. Even clients feel guilt free as they actually haven’t had sex with a real person and therefore don’t have to lie to their partner.

While some of you reading this responded with a resounding “GAH!” at the thought of a mechanized babe getting familiar with your junk, I’m willing to bet that a good chunk of you are highly intrigued by this notion.

The Pros

• Think about it, no awkwardness and anything goes. Who wouldn’t want that? Even as a woman I can see the benefit of having a robotic lover.
• No one to judge your sexual preferences, or talk about how good/bad you are in bed to their friends, and most importantly no STIs.
• Another perk of having robojiggalo? Time.

As we become busier in our daily lives, some people have trouble finding time for dating. Online dating used to be the solution for busy professionals, but the problem with online dating will always will be trust.
Is this person really who they say they are? Do they look like their profile picture or it is tricky camera angles? Not only that, once you get past the initial meeting you have to maintain the personal and in-person relationship dance, something today’s digital society has trouble balancing.

The Cons

• As mentioned in the Mars/Yeoman paper, the most obvious downside to robotic prostitutes is the opposition from real, living sex workers.
• Yes, mechanizing the sex trade industry could eliminate things like human trafficking, but not all sex workers are in the industry against their will. Unless the client is specifically looking for real human interaction, hooker bots are just bad for business.

Wouldn’t you go broke?
Anyone who is willing to put themselves in the poor house from living at the cathouse is gonna do it anyway. It’s no different than gambling or drinking. Just because it’s socially acceptable to partake in these activities, doesn’t mean it’s socially acceptable to let these activities bring you to financial ruin. Bang responsibly.

What about desensitization, addiction, and delusional attachment?
Again, this all comes down to the individual. Can you fall in love with a robot? Probably. People can find an emotional attachment to anything. Human and non human, animate and inanimate, we’ve all expressed “love” for things that can’t/don’t return those feelings.

Sex addiction is always up for debate. Some believe it’s a real, psychological condition while others believe it’s a cop out for lack of willpower. Either way, neither of these things has anything to do with bot itself.

If robot sex is your preferred method of getting off, there is a very good chance you’ll develop a desensitized and unrealistic expectation of how your RL sex partners should act. This is already happening with porn addiction.

“I went to the bank today, and the teller didn’t invite me into the vault for a quickie, what gives?”

Bottom line, it’s individual that needs to be assessed if these issues arise in the future, not the technology.

Guilt Free Cheating.

Even though a future with robotic prostitutes is currently hypothetical, it’s also extremely plausible and seemingly just around our technological corner. So this begs the question, is it still considered cheating?

The answer to that depends entirely on one’s definition of cheating. Some people believe that sleeping with a prostitutes is not cheating because it’s a service that you paid for. Others believe that any kind of sexual stimulation outside the relationship including masturbation, watching porn or even checking out other people is considered cheating. These are extreme examples, of course, but then you have all these subjective definitions of cheating i.e. oral only, the area code rule, same sex only, and other completely asinine loop holes.

So what is considered cheating?
Personally, I feel cheating is completely subjective to the person who feels they’ve been cheated on and their level learned jealousy. Obviously there are many other factors like predetermined ground rules but that’s an entirely different discussion.

What do you think? Are robotic prostitutes the future of the sex trade industry?  What other issues might this solve/create? Would you try it?

SOURCE: Discovery