Carleton University Associate Professor discusses the legality and ethics of artificial companions

Furthering the goal of our Future of Sex Expert Series to offer you a range of professional insights on the current and future state of sexual technology, we asked Associate Professor Lara Karaian of Carleton University’s Institute of Criminology & Criminal Justice to offer her thoughts on sexbots and establishments offering access to them.

Q: What are the current laws regarding sexbots and sexbot brothels—and how are they being enforced?

“(Note: I am not a lawyer and none of this should be taken as legal advice! This information is based on my current knowledge of the legal context.)

“In North America, adult looking sexbots purchased for private use are not regulated by any specific laws. Childlike sex dolls have been criminalized under child pornography laws so these laws would likely extend to childlike robots as well, assuming that they were anatomically correct and/or it was known that they were being used for sexual purposes. If robots become sentient, or are viewed as non-human persons, like corporations or some animals, then our legal relationship to sexbots will change, but that’s not our current context. 

“Despite numerous “sex robot brothel” controversies within Asia, Europe, and North America over the past two decades, there currently are no “sexbot brothel” specific laws. It’s important to note, that so called “sex robot brothels” are typically private residences or public commercial venues that rent realistic looking synthetic sex dolls by the hour. They often provide a private room, a synthetic doll, as well as some form of online or virtual porn and/or access to other sex toys. To date, despite being advertised as sex robot establishments, possibly to animate their products and intensify the allure of their services, none of these so-called sexbots brothels provide access to AI enabled sexbots. Yet.

“Depending on the country and jurisdiction, the “sex robot brothels” have faced the threat of criminalization via existing prostitution laws. In Canada, where many of the doll brothel controversies occurred, commercial sexual services are primarily regulated by the federal government and the Canadian Criminal Code. At the same time, local sex industries—such as sex toy stores, strip clubs, steam baths, massage/body rub parlors, and escort services—are also controlled via municipal zoning bylaws and licensing schemes. 

“Unlike federal prostitution laws, municipalities cannot outright prohibit certain sexual acts or personal relationships. Nevertheless, municipalities regulate myriad sex-related brothel-like businesses in so far as both city workers and the businesses themselves remain willfully ignorant of the provision of sexual services on the premises. 

“In the North American legal context, sexual entertainment establishments are controlled via a laddered approach, ranging from the regulation of XXX toy stores to those with higher intimacy and the presence of other humans, such as strip clubs, bathhouses, and body rub parlors. While municipalities are tasked with ensuring community health and safety, and are not meant to police morality, in reality they often restrict the number of sexual entertainment establishments via caps, zoning restrictions and licensing requirements that result in the denial or subsequent closure of emerging sextech rental services. 

“Internationally, there have been some calls to apply prostitution laws to sexbots brothels, however in all the cases I am aware of these laws were deemed inapplicable since no human sex workers were involved. Nevertheless, in those jurisdictions where some aspect of sex work is criminalized, sexbot brothels have faced much community and political backlash. As a result, they’ve faced more municipal regulation.”

Q: What legislation would be beneficial towards a positive usage of sexbots and/or sexbot brothels?

“As of 2024, almost all the sex doll/sexbot brothels that opened across North America, Asia, and Europe closed soon after opening. Municipal regulation is a big part of this, but not all the reasons for these closures are known. In addition to legal barriers, sex work and sex tech stigma play some role. 

Of the many doll brothels that have emerged over the past two decades only two remain in operation that I am aware of: Berlin’s Cybrothel (“Cybrothel,” n.d.), and Prague’s Naughty Harbor Sex Doll Brothel (“Naughty Harbor Sex Doll Brothel,” n.d.). Both exist in jurisdictions with full or partial legalization of sex work. 

“Legislators need to be clear on the differences between sexbots and human sex workers, but they also must be careful not to conflate sex dolls, sex robots, sex work, and sex trafficking victims. Sex dolls are not the same thing as AI enhanced sex robots, neither dolls nor robots are the same as human sex workers, and human sex workers are not the same as victims of sexual trafficking. 

“Too often, legislators as well as anti-sex work and anti-sex robot activists blur the lines between these categories to make the case for sex workers, sexbots, and sexbot brothels’ criminalization or closure. 

“Because of the popular associations between sex work and sex dolls or robots, the federal decriminalization of sex work would go a long way to destigmatizing sexbots and brothels. Additionally, revised zoning and municipal laws are needed. 

“But, before these legislative changes can happen we will need more public awareness about the social and cultural role of sexual businesses in our daily lives and communities. In North America, the ongoing legacy of Victorian moral reformers and anti-sex work feminists means that commercial sex and tech facilitated sex is still considered non-normative, deviant, immoral, and criminal. Sexuality scholarship, however, has helped to de-exceptionalize sex, meaning to question and counter the claim that sex and sexual diversity is inherently dangerous and lacking in social value. 

With the development of sextech, we need to extend our ideas about sexual diversity further so that we don’t privilege what I refer to as “carbonsexuality”—the privileging of organic over synthetic sex and love—and instead embrace the difference and benignness of technosexuality, digisexuality, or robosexuality.

Q: Should sexbot design and manufacturing be legislated, industry-regulated, or monitored?

“I’ll answer this question by reiterating my point about our need to de-exceptionalize sex and sex tech. All industries are regulated to address health and safety and to ensure that no harm comes to those who use their products, sex bots are no exception to this rule. 

“Sexbots should not be regulated any more or less than other tech facilitated products based on the mere fact that they serve a sexual function. Any regulation of sexbots’ design and manufacturing should be limited to issues of physical health and safety. 

“Concerns about attitudinal harm, or harm to women as a class should not inform industry regulation.  Yes, our sexual desires and attractions are shaped by our society and shape our society, often in concerning ways. We should take representations that are reductive or negative seriously. And at the same time, we know that suppressing expression or speech, or telling people what they should desire or how to desire, is also harmful. Decades worth of research on porn consumption demonstrate that there is no causal link between sexual representations and sexual harm. 

“Currently, most companies are self-regulating by refusing to produce sex dolls and bots that look like children and animals. There’s a great deal of debate about the purported benefits and harms of these more controversial representations.

Q: What do you envision for the future of sexbots – how do you think this could evolve?

“The sexbot will undoubtedly change over time and, in my opinion, in positive ways. I see the sexbots as benign variation and as providing opportunities for sexual play, exploration, and identity development, not as a replacement for carbonsexuality, at least for many people. 

“At first, the sexbots will reflect our potentially limited imaginations, but as they become more and more mainstream and accessible, I expect their form and function to change. It’s possible that they will maintain a human form or that they will gradually become less human-like. As is currently the case, they will continue to function as a sexual aid and or as a companion that helps meet our varied emotional needs. 

“Depending on how quickly we achieve artificial general intelligence, they will become new legal persons with whom we will need to negotiate sexual relations. As their form changes, they will allow us to further expand our ideas about sex, the self, the human, and what we mean by life and love.”

Image Sources: Depositphotos, Lara Karaian

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Everything from AI-enhanced synthetic companions to VR—for a price

What if I told you a building in a nondescript Berlin neighborhood might very well hold the future of in-person, private adult entertainment? Not only that, but Cybrothel Berlin [NSFW] could also have the solution to what’s been causing so many other sexbot brothels to close their doors.

The result of a collaboration between Phillip Fussenager, an Austrian-based filmmaker, and Alexis Smiley Smith, a writer living in Berlin, who were both seeking a way to somehow combine state-of-the-art sexbots and the immersive power of high-end virtual reality systems, Cybrothel Berlin first opened its doors in late 2023.

Since then, Fussenager, Smiley Smith, and its present co-owner, Matthias Smetana, have continued to expand their establishment’s services to include an impressive variety of unique erotic technologies.

You name it, they’ve got it (almost)

For instance, clients can try their hand at Polybay Digital Entertainment’s Cherry VX [NSFW] virtual reality game, enjoy the company of a Chinese-made Kokeshi [NSFW] sex doll, or, through a partnership with Badoink [NSFW], immerse themselves in a selection of the innovative adult entertainment company’s VR videos while frolicking with a pair of high-quality artificial playmates.

But these are merely a few of the impressive number of unique services Cybrothel Berlin offers. For example, their Full Option isn’t just one-to-one time with the choice of a realistic sex doll but complements of an integrated artificial intelligence system and some readily available voice actors for an extra-exciting level of immersiveness.

RECOMMENDED READ: Shape of Things to Come: The Exciting Future of Humanoid Sexbots

Talking to news.com.au, Smetana explained Cybrothel Berlin’s allure, “If you are here, the only person who can judge you is yourself. We have a lot of people who have never been in touch with sex work, who are really down to try it but are looking for a safe space. If you face performance anxiety, this doesn’t go in Cybrothel as you are dealing with sex toys, not humans.”

Tomorrow’s pleasures today

In the same interview, Smetana suggested Cybrothel Berlin isn’t just some sort of high-tech novelty but a step towards the future, saying that sex work clientele—mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic—is in decline, speculating that “(Traditional) clients will be gone in the next 10 to15 years. So I think right now the sex industry will move on more in the VR direction. Having sex in the digital world and the physical world at the same time.”

Coinciding with Smetana’s prediction, Cybrothel Berlin continues to be a popular destination, with TAdviser estimating its clientele to be on the youngish side, averaging about thirty-two years old and primarily identifying as male.

A green light for the sex doll red light industry?

As our recently updated guide to High-Tech Sex Doll Brothels demonstrated, where once were a dozen or so different establishments around the world, only a handful have survived, with only Cybrothel Berlin showing no signs—so far, at any rate—of shutting down.

Likely due to it being in a country where consensual sex work isn’t subject to prosecution, Cybrothel Berlin may have a business model other sex doll brothels might be able to use to stay in business.

The first may lie in Cybrothel Berlin, not exclusively focusing exclusively on erotic activities with synthetic companions, and instead merges them with other entertainment technologies like AI and virtual reality.  

It may sound like a trivial difference, but when you look at other sex doll brothels and how they, arguably, may too boldly advertise their services, perhaps if they tried to blur the lines a bit, as Cybrothel Berlin has done, it might help keep them off their local government’s puritanical, anti-sex, anti-pleasure radar.

Love (and sex) is a many splendored thing

More than anything, Cybrothel Berlin is a great example of outside-the-box thinking. Yes, they have several artificial companions to choose from, but the fun doesn’t stop there. By integrating them with other cutting-edge tech like AI and VR, they’ve not only diversified their services but can integrate even more advanced sextech wonders as they become available.

In that, Cybrothel Berlin could be a model for the future, a technological blank slate into any number of new systems that can be readily plugged into holograms, smart toys, haptic systems, and the list goes on and on.  

There is nothing to stop other adult entertainment centers from making such new technologies available to their clients, and in this way, and in this way, also do their part to help further develop entirely new ranges of pleasure technologies while simultaneously allowing people to explore their sexual selves in a safe and nonjudgmental environment.

If, that is, we and the governments we elect will let them.  

Image Sources: Cybrothel Berlin [NSFW]

The post Cybrothel Berlin: Welcome to the House of Sexbot Fun appeared first on Future of Sex.

A list of establishments where you can pay by the hour to romp with sexy synthetics.

Over the past couple of years, several sex doll brothels have popped up around the world—many of them in Europe. Some remain in business, charging clients half-hourly and hourly rates to spend time with dolls in private rooms. Yet public outcry has forced others to shutter their services.

Here we share details on the ones still in operation. We plan to continually update this article with new establishments offering synthetic beauties for hire. So if we’ve missed any, please let us know by emailing editor [at] futureofsex [dot] net.

Note that most of these love doll bordellos don’t share their addresses publically for security and privacy reasons. So you’ll need to contact them directly for address information, which they likely won’t give out until you make a booking.

Sex Doll and Sex Robot Brothels in Europe

Cybrothel—Berlin, Germany

Launched by a group of artists in 2019, Berlin’s Cybrothel is still going strong; offering all sorts of erotic activities with an array of provocative, virtual playmates including ones based on the popular Kokeshi model as well as more physical encounters with actual, bonafide sexbots.  

Beginning at around $350 for a Night Session, which includes a high-end sexbot playmate, also includes a private bath, a balcony view of the city, and the ability to watch adult videos on a massive HD screen.

Naughty Harbor Sex Doll Brothel—Prague, Czechia

This Prague sex doll brothel claims to combines teledildonics, virtual reality, and sex dolls for immersive and realistic experiences. An hour of pleasure with a sex doll will cost you $85. The company Naughty Harbor told FutureofSex.net it plans to add AI-powered sex robot heads in the not too distant future.

Aura Dolls Brothel—Toronto, Canada

Recently set up in a Toronto, Canada neighborhood, Aura Dolls Brothel has all the earmarks of becoming a successful, and quite popular establishment, due to its commitment to provide safe, satisfying, and pleasurable sexbot experiences. 

With all the clubs and establishments we’ve seen move to our RIP section, it’s refreshing to find a brothel willing to bravely step forward, taking the chance on a business model many people, and their governments, have yet to accept.

RIP: Shuttered brothels

The Dolly Parlour – Greenwich, South London, England

The Dolly Parlour, which was previously located in Greenwich, South London had opened in February 2018 but has since closed down.

Xdolls Brothel—Paris, France

Unfortunately, the once popular, Paris-based Xdolls club seems to be no longer in operation, despite French police officials having previously determined it wasn’t a brothel, per se, due to its “employees” not being human.

Lumidolls—Moscow, Russia; Barcelona, Spain; Nagoya, Japan; and Turin, Italy

Once a major step towards sexbot brothel acceptance, Lumidolls’ clubs in Moscow, Barcelona, Nagoya, and, as the New York Post reports, Turin, all appear to have closed.  Even the Lumidolls’ company site appears shuttered, meaning there’s no information available for when—or if—it might reopen any of its establishments.

Bordoll—Dortmund, Germany

Madam Evelyn Schwarz’s Bordoll club, which provided a number of well-maintained makes and models, has joined the sadly long list of sexbot brothels to have closed their doors.

Love Love Happiness—Shenzhen, China

Suspended somewhere between open and closed, Shenzhen’s Love Love Happiness brothel was put out of business by Chinese authorities, though its founder, Li Bo, remains hard at work trying to fight their ban.  We can only hope he succeeds as, by all accounts, his establishment was extremely popular–more than likely because of its very affordable rates.

Aura Dolls Brothel—Houston, Texas

A proposed sexbot club could be doomed before opening its doors for the first time–at least if Houston’s Mayor, Sylvester Turner, has anything to say about it.  

Speaking to USA Today, he made his opinion quite clear, “It’s not the sort of business that we advertise for, or we seek to attract. Or quite frankly, from my point of view, the sort of business that I want in the city of Houston.”

Supposedly a new location for the already-established Aura Dolls Brothel in Toronto Canada, the Houston brothel’s fate remains up in the air, though considering how much uproar it’s generated there’s a good chance Texans who want a high quality sexbot encounter will have to look elsewhere.

Kontakthof brothel—Vienna, Austria

While not exclusively a brothel for sex dolls, the most popular sex worker at Kontakthof was reportedly one. No longer in business, an hour with this synthetic beauty named Fanny used to cost 80€.

House of Dolls—Kamloops, Canada

An interesting service, not really a brothel per se as they operate more like an escort service. You pay for a night and they deliver the doll to you. They will even set it up and pick it up at the location of your choice.

Bella Dolls—Vancouver, Canada

Bella Dolls in Vancouver was scheduled to open on November 3, 2018. But it may have been offering services before then. Unlike other sex doll establishments, its business troubles seem to have nothing to do with sexual stigma. The City of Vancouver told The Vancouver Sun newspaper there are no laws against such businesses. However, Bella Dolls has yet to apply for a license to operate in the city.

The husband and wife who led this sex doll brothel in Vancouver also started House of Dolls in Kamloops. Dolls are rented for 350$ a night with a 500$ damage deposit.

KinkySDollS—Toronto, Canada

KinkySDollS says it launched its love doll service, which offers life-sized dolls for purchase or rent, in 2017. According to the company’s website, their dolls are “lubed warm and ready to play” when clients arrive for their private sessions. In addition, their website states that their mission includes: preventing human trafficking and reducing prostitution, helping those who have difficulties getting companionship, and reducing sex crimes.

Doll House—Viby J, Denmark

The Doll House brothel was located in the southwestern part of Aarhus, the second-biggest city in Denmark, in the Viby J district. Prices start at DKK 500 for 30 minutes and DKK 800 for one hour with one doll. You could upgrade your experience by adding more dolls into your session as well as by incorporating virtual reality with the HTC Vive headset available.

Scotland

Two days after opening, a sex doll brothel located in a small village southeast of Glasgow, Scotland, shut its doors. Complaints from unhappy neighbors poured in after the establishment received media coverage.

Unique Dolls—Helsinki, Finland

Russian sex doll company Unique Dolls opened a brothel in the Finnish Capital in November 2018. The establishment will feature four synthetic beauties named Candy, Jennifer, Nicky, and Crystal. Each of the four dolls has its own room at the brothel furnished with a sofa bed, table, and flat-screen TV. An hour with one of them costs €100. However, the establishment now appears to be shuttered, as its website is no longer live.

More love doll brothels?

Are we missing any other businesses that offer on-site rentals of love dolls? Let us know by emailing us at editor [at] futureofsex [dot] net.

Image sources: Kokeshi AI, Depositphotos

The post High-Tech Sex Doll Brothels and Sexbot Cyberbrothels [UPDATED] appeared first on Future of Sex.