How will it change human sexuality?

In our previous article, Sex and Augmented Reality: Part 1 — What Is AR?, we had a rather quick crash-course in what AR is, how it’s different that virtual reality, and some teases of what it could mean in regards to sex.

Now it’s time to explore that erotic potential in much more detail—and see how the power of augmented reality lies not just in replacing reality but in illuminating what we hadn’t been able to see before.

AR and sex?

As was said in our first article, while virtual reality has the allure of creating a totally immersive experience, augmented reality has the promise of enhancing what is already there with all kinds of pertinent information.

This means that using AR glasses you’ll be able to look at the world around you and visually know whatever anyone wants to share with you. Think of looking at someone and seeing, immediately their About Me page.

Not only that but the system will be interactive. Looking at someone you might see you are a potential sexual match, so you send them a digital wink. If they like that, they might respond in kind, without a word being exchanged and with clear boundaries of communication.

If you might be nervous about sharing sexual interests with everyone it no doubt could be configured to hide your info and make it visible only to others with similar turn-ons.

For example, a glance at someone walking down the street and, superimposed over your vision, a little emoji for your favorite kink pops up over someone’s head: possible playmate found!

The possibilities are really fascinating. With AR hardware you could “throw” a window onto any surface—as it only exists as a projection into your own vision. Need to send a text or email? A sheet of virtual paper appears on the tabletop in front of you, allowing you to either dictate or even type, using tracking software looking at your fingertips on a similarly virtual keyboard.

Erotic images could be similarly tossed on any surface, shared from a lover or playmate or just to spruce up a drab city. Another part of the smart system being that it wouldn’t block or distract you from doing whatever it is you need to be doing. There’s no reason why it couldn’t monitor your real-world position and flick away an overlay that could be a dangerous distraction.

But, at its core, AR is all about information. Think about how much less confusing and difficult the world could be if you could look at someone and know what they wanted or needed—especially sexually. Gone could very well be doubts around not just possible erotic interest, but also things like language, preferred gender address, and so much more.

This is also true in regards to safety. As the AR system would monitor your position as well as provide a recording system, if anyone chooses to ignore what you are putting out into the world you could instantly give them an AR thumbs down—or even alert the police if needed.

Best of both worlds

Augmented reality will enhance our view of the world around us, but it also has the possibility of changing what we see.

Virtual reality is kind of all-or-nothing: it swaps out the real world for a synthetic one. But what makes augmented reality full of so many possibilities is that it could overlay part of what we see but also, like VR, supplant it as well.

Think of it this way: for a VR system to be effective it has to get rid of that pesky real world. This is why most VR rigs block any of the wearer’s normal vision.

With AR, however, it normally just supplants what the wearer sees. But a hybrid augmented reality system would allow people to switch back and forth. This would be particularly easy for a contact lens version of AR as the glasses form would more-than-likely have some bleeding in reality around the frames.

Here’s where the fun begins! Imagine looking at your lover and seeing a playful road map of erogenous zones, perhaps biometrically symbolized by levels of arousal?

Or, at a moment’s notice, you could be able to superimpose anything you or your partner desires over your intimate scene. Want make love to a cartoon or anime character? How about looking back at your own face? Or even play with concepts of gender or sexual orientation by visually replacing your partner with a mix-and-match of erotic images?

And we haven’t even touched on the impact that haptic tech will have on augmented reality: when the day comes that we will not just be able to see whatever we desire but also have the illusion of touch as well.

The future in our eyes

Of all the technological breakthroughs in sexual exploration arriving or coming soon, augmented reality shows perhaps the greatest potential for not just physical pleasure, but in truly enhancing how we’ll understand and relate to one another.

Ignorance has long been a burden of humanity. But with augmented reality’s promise of breaking down barriers, of giving and sharing personal information, it could very well mean the end of not knowing and, even more importantly, not caring about anyone.

Image sources: City University Interaction Lab, Shots of Awe