Artificial intelligence experts say human-like robot partners could soon be able to provide companionship, sex and even emotional support on demand.
According to the Daily Mail, futurist Dr Ian Pearson predicted late last year that some wealthy households will be the first to experience robot sex.
The doctor said it could later become widespread, with AI robots programmed to be the perfect partner.
The Daily Mail, however, noted that Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady said the technology is advancing rapidly.
“They won't be metal. There will be textures to make them feel human,” Shafiabady said.
“For our generation, that sounds bizarre, but it might not be in future generations.”
The Associate Professor believes that the current-day teenagers could be the ones to raise the stakes in human-robot relationships when they settle down in the next decade.
“By then, they would already be very accepting of technology. They will be very comfortable with it,” she said.
Shafiabady said some people would want to program the robot to be their perfect match.
“AI can always be happy, it can mimic empathy, and it has the perfect emotional response,” Shafiabady explained.
“You could programme the ideal partner using AI.”
According to the Daily Mail, Shafiabady, however, warned that there are risks among them the erosion of human-to-human connections.
“Is it ethical to continue to erode human-to-human relationships, especially for people who are more vulnerable, like kids? Is that the path that we want to head towards or not?” she asked.
While the idea of a partner who always agrees may sound appealing, she cautioned that humans might eventually tire of perfection.
“Humans are designed in a way that they have emotions like happiness and a sense of sadness too. After a few years, we could see the flaws of those AI robots. It’s very unnatural with our nature, ” Shafiabady said.
The Daily Mail noted that currently, advanced sex robots can cost more than $15,000, making them inaccessible to most people.
Professor Shafiabady, however, said the price could determine how widespread they become.
“If an AI robot becomes something cheap, then we will see a big change in our society,” the professor said.
According to
adult industry tracker Bedbible, an estimated 156 sex robots were sold daily in
2024.
The UK newspaper said Dr Pearson confirmed that women may be more likely than men to adopt robot partners.
“Vibrators have been around for over a century. The sex toy industry is now producing internet-connected devices with advanced capabilities," he said.
Harvard-trained mathematician and data scientist Dr Cathy O’Neil, on the other hand, suggested that men could face competition.
“It is entirely possible that robots can outperform men,” she said.
Dr Pearson predicted that by 2050, sex with robots will overtake sex with other humans, the Daily Mail reported.
