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
  • Imgur Bans Sexual Content

  • Navigating the Uncertainties of Sex Tech: Can Layoffs be Avoided?

  • Sex Tech Mixers, Hackathons & Conferences [UPDATED]

  • Sex Tech in the Face of Tech Turmoil: What’s Next?

  • Pixels and Parameters: Why AI Art Needs Moderation

  • Going Green: How Sustainable Sex Toys Are Making a Movement

  • No Mor Minute Men? A New Crowdfunding Campaign Could End Premature Ejaculation

  • The WeTac Electrotactile Glove Gives VR Users a Hyper-Realistic Sense of Touch

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

Home > Sex Tech > Planned Parenthood Is Battling Sexual Ignorance with a Chatbot

Sex Tech
Home›Sex Tech›Planned Parenthood Is Battling Sexual Ignorance with a Chatbot

Planned Parenthood Is Battling Sexual Ignorance with a Chatbot

By M. Christian
February 6, 2020
1448
0

Roo is designed to answer teenagers’ questions and even learn, itself, along the way.

Planned Parenthood

In her 2016 study Changes in Adolescents' Receipt of Sex Education, 2006–2013, Dr. Laura Lindberg writes of a significant and ongoing decline in the availability of quality sex education for young adults.  

Talking to The Guttmacher Institute about her study, she lays out her findings:

Relying on parents alone to provide teens with necessary information about sex is inadequate. Schools should provide medically accurate and comprehensive sex education, so teens have the information and skills they need to enjoy the best health possible.

The problem is, sex education in the United States—principally quality sex education that covers subjects like birth control, HIV prevention, consent, and gender and sexual orientation issues—is spotty at best, with some states even continuing to teach abstinence despite the long-debunked effectiveness of abstinence education.  

So if parents can’t provide the necessary basics and public education is either not there or way out of date, where can young adults go to receive essential, and most of all non-judgemental, information about human sexuality?

The answer could very well be to a state-of-the-art chatbot from one of the most respected sources of information on the subject: Planned Parenthood.

Answer my questions, Roo

Planned Parenthood’s Roo chatbot was created by Work & Co, but unlike others of its kind, this system was designed and built from the get-go to understand as well as answer questions specifically from young adults.

Before it was even created, for instance, Planned Parenthood laid the groundwork for Roo by talking with students at MESA (Math Engineering Science Academy) High School in Bushwick, New York about what they’d actually want from an online sex education interactive resource.

According to Planned Parenthood’s senior director of the Digital Product Lab, Ambreen Molitor, confidentiality was a big part of the students being comfortable with the experience.

More than that, this reported lack of feeling safe to ask anything they wanted reveals why public school, and even sex ed from parents, has been so ineffective for teens.  

Ask Roo anything you want

Planned Parenthood Logo

Interviewed by Vox, Molitor said that even online resources don’t always feel secure, noting that “Gen Z’s teens in general are very aware that when you’re searching on Google, you’re being cookie’d. They’re very cognizant of what they type into the browser or the search query—which is really unique.”

But this isn’t the only thing Molitor learned. In addition to needing to be secure, she also found out that their platform had to be mobile, reflecting how many teens prefer to use their phones rather than computers at home or at their schools.

She also discovered that being direct, and in particular asking straight-up questions about sex, is not something many young people feel at ease doing. So, they built into Roo the ability to be casual: the system can recognize an indirect question and respond in as human-like a manner as possible.

“We wanted to bring that tone to life, as well,” Molitor told Mashable, talking about this casual approach to listening and responding, “So the way that Roo speaks to the user is to allow that comfort zone to continue to happen.”

A chatbot that learns

Roo

In addition to this research and thoughtful engineering, Roo has also been designed to learn, delivering more and more helpful information as it interacts with a user.  

At first, this might sound like simply an add-on, but, reflecting back on Molitor’s discussions with teens and how they sometimes find asking a direct question about sex intimidating or embarrassing, this feature makes a lot of sense. By paying attention to how they are asking a question, Roo can get better and better at accurately hearing, and then responding to, what might be between the lines.

This nuance would be just about impossible for a teacher in a classroom setting to achieve or for a parent to be able to handle.  

Going further, Roo even enables teens to leave the bot environment and text their questions to a healthcare expert or, if they’d prefer to meet with someone face-to-face, talk to someone at the nearest Planned Parenthood facility.

To protect their health and plan their futures

Tragically, young adults in the United States are far too frequently treated as either reckless quasi-feral animals in need of caging and stern, if not brutal, “education” to curb their urges, or they are treated as too ignorant and naive to be trusted with honest information about human sexuality.

While some parents do an excellent job of providing this information, and some teenagers are lucky to live in an area with a good educational system, what most young people learn about sex hasn’t evolved much since those whispered rumors in high school bathrooms.

With Roo, though, Planned Parenthood has made an important new step in treating teenagers as the young adults that they are, deserving of respect and unbiased information about sex as well as smart enough to learn and make their own informed decisions.

“Planned Parenthood believes all young people have the right to the evidence-based information and skills they need to protect their health and plan their futures,” president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Dr. Leana Wen, put it in her statement about the release of Roo, “and we’re excited for Roo to be a credible, approachable resource to get the personalized answers they need.”

After all, “to protect their health and plan their futures” is what everyone, parent or teacher, should always be thinking when it comes to young adults and sex—and everything else that’s important. 

Image sources: News 8 WROC

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

Women’s Low Libido Drugs Sold Off by ...

Next Article

Why SESTA/FOSTA Bans Adult Content in Private ...

Related articles More from author

  • Kenneth R. Hanson headshot
    AugmentationDating & RelationshipsSex TechVirtual Sex & Entertainment

    2022: A Call to Action for Sex Tech Industry Leaders

    December 23, 2021
    By Kenneth R. Hanson
  • RISUG Male Contraceptive
    Sex Tech

    Condom-Free Male Contraceptive Is Coming Soon

    October 9, 2014
    By Hugo Gray
  • Sex Tech

    Can Blockchains Actually Be Tools for Sexual Safety?

    April 19, 2017
    By M. Christian
  • A 3D-printed sex toy.
    Sex Tech

    3D Printers Put DIY Sex Toys In Consumers’ Hands

    October 19, 2015
    By Antony Scholefield
  • Bryony Cole and others at the Sextech Hackathon in NYC in 2017.
    Sex Tech

    Hey, Aussie Women! Hurry and Apply for Free Entry to Sydney Sextech Hackathon

    March 19, 2018
    By Jenna Owsianik
  • The Handy penis stroker sitting on a bedside table next to a cactus and soothing warm lamp.
    Sex Tech

    Handy Stroker Partners with FeelXVideos For ASMR Interactivity

    April 24, 2022
    By M. Christian

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • hands at computer
    Sex Tech

    Staying Out of the Spam Folder As a Sex Tech Professional

  • Robots

    Robot Sex On the Big Screen Today at Sundance: Meaning of Robots Trailer

  • Sila Product Review
    Sex Tech

    Sila Review: A Sex Toy with Sonic Waves Befitting a Land Mermaid

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

  • Project QT is the most popular RPG sex game at hentai sex game portal Nutaku.

    The Best RPG Sex Games of 2021

  • Realistic Sex Games

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

    0
  • Screenshot of FeelConnect app future of interactivity intimacy available on Apple and Google Store

    The Best Sex Game Apps for Couples for 2021

  • Screenshot of a sexbot from adult entertainment game

    The Best Adult Games on Steam

  • Harmony ai sex doll from RealDoll

    State of the Sexbot Market: The World’s Best Sex Robot and AI Sex Doll Companies

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