“Being positive, we can open ourselves up to all kinds of new possibilities”

Our Future of Sex Expert Series continues with this informative conversation with Simon Dubé, PhD, a Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute and specialist in artificial companions, human-machine erotic interactions, and space sexology.

He is also one of the guiding lights behind the upcoming International Congress of Love and Sex With Robots at the Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada.

Q: Do you tend to envision a positive or negative future where artificial companions/erobots are concerned?

“That’s a really good question. I tend to give myself an objective of envisioning a positive future for humanity because in my mind I believe we need to set ourselves sextech positive objectives and adopt a sextech positive approach—including our relationship with artificial companions—to know what we are striving for. 

“How will that positivity manifest?  I’m unsure, not because of the technology itself per se, but what people do with it.  So it’s the human component that I’m most worried about but I think having a sextech positive approach doesn’t mean ignoring the risks. It’s actually acknowledging the risks, trying to mitigate them and move towards a positive future. 

“I have my doubts because of the incentives the people and the companies behind some of these changes have. I think there’s plenty of well intentioned individuals across the board, including in the industry, but I think we need as a civilization to also set ourselves eudemonic and more utopian objectives.

“We need to set ourselves goals that are not just about creating profit, but are actually in service of creating wellbeing. If we set that as an objective and even almost a regulation, companies and individuals will make even more money and benefit more people. I don’t think those are mutually exclusive.  

“We have to keep our optimism, not going in blindly, but at the same time it’s like, by being positive, we can open ourselves up to all kinds of new possibilities.”

Q: In what surprising new ways might human sexuality evolve in the coming years?

“I would definitely say that the future’s going to transform every aspect of our human, intimate and sexual life from our identities to our partners, and the way we meet, connect and maintain relationships.

“Right now what we’re seeing with the emergence of the great advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics and virtual augmented and mixed worlds is a convergence of the technologies and the way they are progressively integrating into every aspect of our life.

“Very soon it’s going to be second nature, the same way it’s second nature right now to use technology to connect, to talk, to have this interview, to meet and maintain a relationship.

“It is going to become ubiquitous to interact with artificial agents and these new digital species across the board.  I think the future of our intimacy and sexuality is a pure integration of this: using technology to meet and have sex and maintain intimate relationships, but also have intimacy and sexuality with technologies not just through it. 

“And having what I like to call multi agent relationships, having a relationship with both humans and machines and human machines and human enhanced machines and machines that are connected to other humans and all kinds of a blur of virtual mix and non-virtual environments and augmented environments.”

Q: What is sextech’s next big challenge—and how might the industry overcome it?

“My knee jerk response would be, I don’t know. There’s so much to address. I think one of the biggest challenges for sextech in general, that’s pervasive, is the socio-political climate in which it’s operating. 

“The fact that sex is always treated as something that’s different from other aspects of human nature, which creates all kinds of problems for the industry, with payment fees, with a constant shifting landscape, rules that are powered by a very conservative force and conservative movements are on the rise on our planet that are in many ways anti-sex.

“I think sextech suffers a lot from that. It doesn’t have the effect that people think it has.  Treating it as a fringe or marginalized subject or something to push and get out of the way and control because otherwise chaos will ensue doesn’t help anyone: It just pushes the industry to find alternative routes, or people to find alternative outlets than embracing it fully as an important dimension of human existence.

“Sextech fulfills human needs, preferences and desires. One of the biggest drives of our evolved socio-cultural history is sex and love and intimacy and intimate relationships.

“It’s one of the main, if not the main drivers of human existence.  So instead of trying to suppress it or put it in the corner or like in the back or regulate it and treat it very differently while we should actually be embracing it fully.”

Q: How will this year’s Love and Sex With Robots conference be different from previous ones?

“The first thing that’s a major difference is it’s the first in-person event since 2020.

“Virtual was great for accessibility, bringing people together while social distancing. But there’s something to be said about the fact that it doesn’t replace physical, in-person interactions. 

“There’s also something special when a group of like-minded folks exchange great ideas about their research, their lived experiences, art, science, policies and technologies and their industries and come together to address big questions like human machine erotic interactions and evolution and how we can make it compatible with human interests.  All in a beautiful city like Montreal. 

“My hope is to build on what we’ve done previous;y, to use when people can come together to learn and exchange with one another and grow from there–and understand this is a safe, interesting, and insightful place to be each year to talk about sexuality in technology.” 

Image Sources: Depositphots, Simon Dube

The post Eudemonic and More Utopian: Simon Dubé Discusses Sexbots, Sextech, and Other Sexuality Advancements appeared first on Future of Sex.

Exploring boundaries while building a sex-positive future

From sex robots in healthcare to chatbots, and a plethora of other innovative perspectives, the 8th Annual International Congress on Love & Sex with Robots joined with the Reimagine Sexuality-The Technology Conference to serve an online feast of products, initiatives, and research.

As the joint conference said “by focusing on sex-positive initiatives that are about health, relationships, education, pleasure, and safety, the sextech industry has made positive movements and impact on an industry that is projected to be worth $37 billion.”

This theme of positive impact driving industry worth was prevalent throughout the entire program and attracted international speakers and attendees.

An exciting array of speakers and topics

This year’s conference was chaired by Rocio Pelayo, technology strategist and founder of Hablemos SexTech and Reimagine Sexuality Conference; Simon Dubé PhD, postdoctoral research fellow with the Kinsey Institute; and Bobbi Bidochka, MA, author of Sexual Intelligence in Business. 

Two of the chairs also presented: Dubé on “Falling in love with ChatGPT: An experimental study” and Bidochka on “Leveraging Research for Better Business Outcomes.” 

The four keynote speakers were:

Dr. Kenneth Hanson, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wyoming, presented “Taking a Life Course Perspective to Understand Love and Sex Doll Owners.”

Dr. Amanda Gesselman, associate director for research at The Kinsey Institute, presented “From Stigma to Empowerment: Emotional and Social Well-Being in Sextech Users.”

Wendy Gerhardt, research leader at the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions spoke on “The Need for Women’s Health Innovation.”

Sexual wellness entrepreneur Rob Bobsy Godwin, founding director of Lovehoney in Australia, talked about “Building Trust, Authenticity, and Transparency in SexTech: Lessons from Success and Failure.”

Over fifty-five people from varied backgrounds and sectors presented at the conference. Topics included innovations in sex tech for medicine, sex education, entrepreneurial advice, new product presentations, academic research, and of course love dolls, robots, and chatbots. 

While all the presentations were excellent, a few stood out in my mind as particularly memorable or innovative. 

For example, Will Ranscombe, co-founder of LoveNotWar, presented “Pleasure Should Not Cost The Earth: Sustainability in the SexTech Industry” describing the numerous ways the design of his modular sex toys can be  eco-sustainable, such as : neosilicone heads attachable to a vibrating base which could save  on manufacturing costs and battery waste.

I was equally inspired by Fredi Fernandez, CPO at Erika Lust and the presentation “Erika Lust’s Data-Powered Quest for a Culture of Sexual Positivity on a Global Scale” and Dr. Jo Ann Oravec’s erudite and entertaining “You May Now Kiss the Robot: Emerging Civil Legalizations and Religious Endorsements of Human-Robot Marriage.”

I was especially thrilled to hear a personal hero of mine, Dr. Marty Klein, discuss “Pornography: What We Can All Agree On.” Klein is a well-known sex therapist and author of Sexual Intelligence and other books.

Another impressive panel was on “Addressing Misconceptions: A conversation with the lovedoll community,” featuring Lovedoll community representatives LoveDoll Magazine(LDM), Dees Luver, Dollface and Karma.

Sextech designs for people with disabilities

The conference included several presentations and products with a focus on disability pleasure. For example, Margaret Anderson and Alex Wertheim, co-founders of Touchbot, presentation, “Inclusive Innovation: The Future of Accessible SexTech through 3D Printing” which featured the brilliant 3D printed “Lattice Extension Handle” designed by Anderson.  

Others presented intriguing products, such as the Bump’n Joystick, which pairs a cylindrical body pillow with a giant grip so users can enjoy them handsfree.

During “Breaking Barriers: Accessible Sexual Pleasure for All Abilities,” Zachary Nielsen, co-founder of Luddi, introduced Ziggy, “the first sex toy for all bodies.” 

Almost flat, Ziggy’s vibrating orange shape can be humped while flat, sat upon, stuffed down the front of your pants, and even shared by two bodies. Its foldable “wings” can also curl around a penis or other body part. 

The other panelists were Tess Devèze, founder of ConnectAble Therapies; Rachel Wotton, PhD candidate, consultant and educator; and Bryony Cole, founder of Sextech School. 

Disability access and enjoyment was also touched upon or emphasized in some of the other presentations.

Future of Sex in the house

As a clinical sexologist and author, I was honored to give two presentations: “How to Make Love to a Chatbot” on Monday and “Adult Sex Ed for AI Chatbots” on Tuesday.

Future of Sex’s own Managing Editor and senior writer, M.Christian, read his short story, “The Work Of Our Hand” before speculating on the value of pairing neural networks with artificial companions.

A future all of us can enjoy

With this year’s partnership with Reimagine Sexuality and growing interest from sextech industry representatives, academics, and clinicians, the 2023 International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots has come a long way since the first one was held back in 2008. You can read more about the history of the conferences here. 

It was not difficult to detect a feeling of shared purpose and vision in the conference, one where a sex—and pleasure-positive future for all is possible and attainable through sextech innovation driven by the stated dedication “to improving human sexuality and relationships through technology and sex positive education.”

Image Sources: LRS/Reimagine Sexuality Conference, A.R. Marsh using Starry.ai. 

The post Innovation and Optimism at the 8th Annual Love & Sex With Robots/Reimagine Sexuality Conference appeared first on Future of Sex.