Image Source: Fox News

Its not surprise that technology has been influenced heavily by people wanting to have sex or see other people have sex. Along the lines of what Scott Adams noted, in the vernacular, technology is driven forward by ostensible nerds, and as noted in the movie “Revenge of the Nerds”, nerds think only about sex when not thinking of being a genius. So any new technology that comes around, you can bet your money on it being used for something related to sex (and/or porn). Historically, when printing press came out, we had porn books follow soon; in the VHS vs. BetaMax war, VHS won primarily because porn videos were released in VHS and not in BetaMax (because BetaMax tapes, at least initially, were only 60 min. long); similarly when cameras came out, we had porn photographs. Why when Poloroids came out, you had home made porn hitting the cultural market in no time! So where is technology driving sex/porn now (or is it the other way around)?^[1]

My first true realization that technology really was all about sex came about in 2005 soon after the iPod came out. In 2005 or so came the iBuzz, which was essentially an iPod-powered-vibrator whose ‘buzz’ was essentially music activated. From then to now, the adult entertainment industry (that how they liked to be called BTW) has been leapfrogging with the technology, and in some cases, driving the technology. For instance, take iBuzz, technology soon improved around it to where now you have Freestyle (NSFW)which is the wireless version of the iBuzz with increased compatibility and quieter motors. Now if that wasn’t good enough for you, you have the Talk2Me (NSFW) which adds an interactive component to the whole deal: it comes with a built-in mic to turn vocalizations into vibrations; so now you can basically talk yourself into an orgasm (WTF)! Oh, and it gets better, the website advertises “Use it as a standard vibe or with your favorite song, your lover’s voice, a podcast, or your boyfriend’s video game.” You boyfriend’s video game?!?! So instead of having sex (which apparently is the second best thing you can do as a couple), let your boyfriend play a video game that you can orgasm to!

But if you insist on having sex (with your partner), but are geographically separated, or somehow detest the idea of having actual physical contact, then Virtual-Stick Synchro is the one for you! This is actually the next technological jump from phone sex. Its as close to virtual reality (and I mean ‘real’ reality, not a pixelated version) and extra-sensory tools that we have gotten with reliability. This tool has a ‘male’ stick for the woman and a ‘female’ hole for the man, and they are hooked up to each other via the internet, with webcams, mics, and other conventional communication mechanisms, and whatever each individual does to/with the stick (resp., or the hole), it’s sensed, transmitted, and replicated by the hole (resp., the stick). It aims to reduce a long distance relationship to a co-existential one in the 5th dimension.

But what if you don’t have a (willing) partner and still insist on having sex. Looks like we have technology working hard for you folks to! Until now, your only reasonable recourse was a blowup doll. Not anymore: recently showcased at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas is Roxxxy TrueCompanion (NSFW). A TrueCompanion is the world first sexbot, that’s right, it’s a robot designed for sex! Its not science fiction anymore. It was artificial intelligence and mutliple personalities depending on your taste.It has sensors all over its body and so it can actually ‘feel’ whatever you are doing to it, and respond appropriately.

The motivation for Roxxxy is a testimony to the argument that nerds really do only think about sex (when they are thinking about being a genius). Now Roxxxy was created by Douglas Hines who was a researcher at Bell Labs (where he learned about the cutting edge in artificial intelligence). Douglas lost a good friends when the twin towers fell on 9/11. Douglas thought that it was sad to not be able to ever talk to him again. So, this made Douglas think seriously about how to implement a robotic representation of a person and have it reflect that person’s personality. And what came out of such a somber thought and effort is a Sexbot! Go figure :-)

Wonder where technology will take us next. My bet is that the publicity surrounding stem cells has less to do with curing diseases and more with the opportunities it provides us to have sex in many more different ways (much like many other technologies preceding it). I think what they are really going for is the Love Lump (NSFW). Any other predictions anyone?

References:
[1] Source: http://www.abc.net.au/science/wings/episode5.htm ^