Future of Sex
tagline
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • The Future of Sex Is Non-binary Genital Surgery That Advances Bodily Agency

  • Is Equity Crowdfunding the Future of Sex Tech Investment?

  • Sex Tech News: New VR Sex Game, a User-Generated Erotica App and ‘Porn for TV’ Streaming Relaunches

  • Blyynd Brings on Investors to Build Anonymous Sexting App

  • A Fitbit for the Penis? The FirmTech Tech Ring Product Review

  • Sex Tech at CES 2023: 6 Brands Exhibited, Including an Anonymous Sexting App

  • Sex Tech Mixers, Hackathons & Conferences [UPDATED]

  • What Vibrating Buttplug Support in a Video Game Taught Us About the Future of Webcam Work

Future of Sex is supported by our readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Home > Augmentation > Would You Take ‘Love Drugs’ to Boost Your Romantic Life?

Augmentation
Home›Augmentation›Would You Take ‘Love Drugs’ to Boost Your Romantic Life?

Would You Take ‘Love Drugs’ to Boost Your Romantic Life?

By M. Christian
April 26, 2017
2163
0

It may only be a matter of time before we have pills that can enhance relationships.

Tablets are placed in the shape of a heart.

It seems like practically every day we are facing serious, and sometimes even daunting, questions regarding the use of technology. From drone warfare to intellectual property, from the right to repair to the ethics around gynoids, every development seems to come with both a wide range of possibilities as well as concerns.

And now comes the news that soon—maybe even sooner than you think—we might be able to take what could best be called a “love pill.”

An affection injection?

Neuroethicist Anders Sandberg, from Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, will soon be addressing “Love in the Time of Tinder” at the Institute of Art and Ideas conference. Part of what he will discuss is the impact of pharmaceuticals that can induce a wide range of human emotions—including romantic love.

As reported by Quartz, Sandberg said: “While there’s still not anything you can find in the supermarket or approved, we’re getting towards the point where they probably will show up.”

Oxytocin may be the key

Back in 2013, Olga A. Wudarczyk, Brian D. Earp, Adam Guastella, and Julian Savulescu authored a paper that spelled out not just the possible mechanisms of a romance drug, but also some possible benefits from it.

Their paper, “Could intranasal oxytocin be used to enhance relationships? Research imperatives, clinical policy, and ethical considerations” sums up the idea that while long-term romance is crucial for many, it can be challenging to maintain.

A possible solution? “To intervene at the level of psychobiology, enhancing partners’ interpersonal connection through neurochemical modulation,” they write in the paper.

Already used for a variety of treatments, including depression, they point to intranasal oxytocin, meaning breathed in through the nose, as a possible avenue to explore for a romance drug.

Questions and possibilities

While the possibility of using drugs such as oxytocin to create a love drug might be a few years away, Anders Sandberg has already begun to raise serious questions about the what this might mean for society.

He discounts the immediate leap to the drug being a magical potion: one that could be slipped to an unsuspecting person, causing them to fall madly in love with the next person they see.

Instead, he says, it would be more akin to a chemical enhancement to what’s already there, emotionally: “something you take together with your partner, and that causes a slow, long-term experience.”

Speculations on a love drug

Looking forward, there is also the possibility that an oxytocin-type drug could be used to treat a wide variety of other psychological concerns beyond assisting romantic relationships. If it’s possible, for instance, to add a sense of connection with a specialized medication, why shouldn’t it also be possible to increase feelings of empathy?

For those who have difficulty connecting with other people, or humanity itself, a chemical option might be the difference between isolation and deep, meaningful connections. Similarly, it could become an essential psychological tool for those dealing with emotional burnout. Teachers, doctors, even police officers can occasionally feel disconnected from the public. Perhaps a modified version of this type of medication could hold off—or even prevent—this emotional distance.

Then there are all the sexual possibilities. While a drug could help restabilize romantic feelings, could it also spice up sexual ones? Someday we might have not really so much of a love potion as a love spice that could chemically enhance erotic pleasure.

Like so many other potential innovations, all kinds of questions will come up around such love drugs. Let’s just hope that humanity will be able to deal with them thoughtfully and carefully—and not just emotionally.

Image sources: Evan Blaser, frankieleon, Jamie

M. Christian

M.Christian (they/them) loves nothing better than exploring the intersections of sex and technology—and speculating on the future of both. A highly regarded erotica writer they have six novels,12 collections, 100+ short stories, and 25 anthologies as an editor to their name. Their non-fiction regularly appears in many sites, but they're most proud of being a regular contributor to Future of Sex.

Of their erotic fiction, Tristan Taormino said that “M.Christian is a literary stylist of the highest caliber: smart, funny, frightening, sexy—there's nothing [they] can't write about… and brilliantly.”

Reflecting their unique ability to sympathetically and convincingly write for a range of genders and sexual orientations, their stories have appeared in multiple editions of Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Mammoth Books of Erotica, and others. Their collection of gay erotic fiction, Dirty Words, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

While a majority of their stories have been collected into books like Dirty Words, their fondness for combining sex and science fiction is clearly evident in collections that include Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, Skin Effect Effect, Bachelor Machine, and Hard Drive: The Best Sci-Fi Erotica of M.Christian.

As a novelist, M.Christian’s versatility is on full display with Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Brushes, Painted Doll; and the somewhat controversial queer BDSM/horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth, and Me2.

M.Christian has worked on the industry’s production side as an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books and as a Publisher for Digital Parchment Services. The latter dedicated to celebrating the works of science-fiction legends such as William Rotsler, Jerome Bixby, Jody Scott, Arthur Byron Cover, Ernest Hogan, and James Van Hise.

Covering topics like BDSM safety, sexual education, senior sexuality concerns, queer and gender issues, plus reviewing a variety of sex tech products, M.Christian’s non-fiction has appeared on sites like Kinkly, Tickle.Life, Sexpert, Queer Majority, Sex for Every Body, and—of course—their ongoing work for Future of Sex.

If there’s anything M.Christian enjoys more than writing, it’s teaching. A featured presenter, sometimes with their friend Ralph Greco Jr, at national sex and BDSM events, they have lectured on kink play (with an emphasis on safety), polyamory, boosting sexual creativity, and erotica writing--for beginners or those wanting to go pro.

M.Christian is a cohost on two popular sex-education podcasts: Love’s Outer Limits with Dr. Amy Marsh and Licking Non-Vanilla with Ralph Greco, Jr.

M.Christian's Books (Sizzler Editions)
M.Christian's Audiobooks
Previous Article

Lesbian Couples Can Skip the Doctor’s Office ...

Next Article

Sex-tracking Wearables and the Quantified Self

Related articles More from author

  • Image of Neuralink, headed by Elon Musk
    Augmentation

    Elon Musk’s ‘Brain Chip’ Will Make You Hot By Tapping Sexual Pleasure Centers

    September 1, 2020
    By Ben Barnes
  • Augmentation

    3-Breasted Woman Deemed a Hoax, Dashing Sci-Fi Dreams

    September 26, 2014
    By Future of Sex
  • AugmentationRemote SexSex TechVirtual Sex & EntertainmentImmersive Entertainment

    Adventures and Inventions from the 2017 Sex Tech Hackathon

    December 13, 2017
    By Oli Lipski
  • AugmentationVirtual Sex & EntertainmentImmersive Entertainment

    Is Wearing a VR Headset During Sex with Your Spouse Cheating?

    May 18, 2017
    By M. Christian
  • Screenshot of Styrofoam Faces of Male and Female In the Garden
    AugmentationVirtual Sex & Entertainment

    ‘The Body I Saw Was My Own’: Sex-swapping VR Study Causes Shifts in Gender Identity

    March 9, 2021
    By M. Christian
  • Philip K. Dick
    AugmentationRobots

    Is Philip K. Dick’s Vision of the Future (of Sex) Coming to Life?

    October 25, 2017
    By M. Christian

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Robots

    The Evolution of Sex Dolls and Their Robotic Future

  • A rhesus monkey is showm sitting on a branch.
    Sex Tech

    Vasalgel Update: Male Contraceptive Works Safely in Monkeys, Study Shows

  • Nutaku Welcome
    Virtual Sex & Entertainment

    Nutaku Welcomes Adult Film Superstar Asa Akira Into Booty Calls Game

Virtual Lust is a 3D interactive sex game.
3DXChat
Discover the best virtual sex parties and 3D sex worlds.
  • TOP REVIEWS

  • Porn for TV logo (computer screen graphic with pink u shapes and a mouse cursor).

    Sex Tech News: New VR Sex Game, a User-Generated Erotica App and ‘Porn for TV’ ...

  • The Blyynd logo with two screens. One has a chat screen and one has the sexual desire options listed.

    Blyynd Brings on Investors to Build Anonymous Sexting App

  • FirmTech Tech Ring

    A Fitbit for the Penis? The FirmTech Tech Ring Product Review

  • Sex Tech at CES 2023: 6 Brands Exhibited, Including an Anonymous Sexting App

  • What Vibrating Buttplug Support in a Video Game Taught Us About the Future of Webcam ...

  • Is Virtual Reality Dating Going Mainstream?

  • Sex Doll Brothels: Reality vs. Expectation

  • Replika AI Chatbot saved human marriage

    How Replika’s AI Chatbot Saved One Man’s Human Marriage

  • Meet the Humans Forming Romantic Relationships With AI

    Replika Romance: Meet the Humans Forming Romantic Relationships With AI

  • The future of sex is mind-reading AI that reveals your deepest, most unconscious fantasies

    The Future of Sex Is Mind-Reading AI That Reveals Your Deepest, Most Unconscious Fantasies

  • Sex Robots Are Getting Closer to Feeling Human-Like With Second Skin Materials

    Sex Robots Are Getting Closer to Feeling Human-Like With Second Skin Materials

  • R/gonewildaudio's gender inclusive audio erotica

    /R/gonewildaudio: An Array of Free, Inclusive and Categorized Audio Erotica

  • Fantasy Inspired Sex Toy by Tentickle Toys

    Out of This World: How Fantasy-Inspired Sex Toys Could Be the Next Big Trend

  • Virtual Sex in the Metaverse

    Virtual Sex Will Soon Become a Reality in the Metaverse

  • OnlyBans Game Play As A Sex Worker

    Play as a Sex Worker in New Onlybans Game

  • Black chess pieces laying across an orange background.

    Teledildonics and Chess: The Unexpected Possibilities That Could Enhance Sex

  • A couple with a woman sitting on a man's lap. They each are holding the Tenuto 2 with one hand.

    Tenuto 2 Erection-Enhancing Vibrator Rises To The Occasion

  • Woman looking at a laptop in a bed. You can see a blurry European city outside of the window.

    Here’s How Often Each European Country Is Searching For Sex Toys Online

  • A Woman Showing Her Smartphone.

    Disclosing Trans-ness on Dating Apps

  • Image of Emma the AI bot.

    Will Young Women of the Future Feel Pressure to Perform Like Robots?

  • Realistic Sex Games

    Review of the Best Sex Games and Most Realistic Sex Simulators of 2021 [UPDATED]

    0
  • Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    Review of the Best Massively Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    0
  • Sex Games for Mac

    The Best Sex Games for Mac

    0
  • foot-fetish-sex-games-girlvania

    Foot Fetish Games That Will Knock Your Socks Off

    0
  • The Best RPG Sex Games of 2021

    0
Fantasy sex game Dream Sex World lets you explore your wildest desires.
Multiplayer sex world Red Light Center continues to impress with its massive userbase and incredible sex graphics.
A blonde and light-skinned love doll face sppears next to the text Go now realdollxthe future is real.
  • 27KFollowers

Like Us on Facebook

Newsletter Subscription

Sign up for our monthly newsletter sharing the very best of the future of sex from our publication and others across the web.

DreamSexWorld offers a stunning XXX 3D world filled with incredibly interactive erotic experiences.

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

RLC_ad_v2

Tweets by @FutureofSex
Future of Sex Report

Follow us

  • Home
  • About
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contribute
  • Story Ideas
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2011 - 2022 Future Exploration Network
This website or its third-party tools use cookies to improve user experience and track affiliate sales. To learn more about why we need to use cookies, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

By clicking the agree button or continuing to browse through the website, you agree to the use of cookies. Accept Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT