An AI designed to pleasure women is in the prototype phase.
In the Spike Jonze movie Her, the protagonist, Theodore, becomes intimate with a highly intelligent operating system named Samantha. What begins as a benign personal assistant-to-human relationship culminates in a sexually charged encounter, with the two sharing steamy descriptions of lovemaking.
While this science-fiction scene may seem outlandish to some, or at least decades away to others, the Singapore-based startup Vibease is getting the ball rolling. It’s developing an interactive AI system for sex called Him, which is intended for the ladies.
In the safe-for-work demo video above, a young woman tells AI software on her phone that she’s tired. Her so-called virtual boyfriend responds by offering a massage, and the Vibease clitoral stimulator begins vibrating. She then commands it to go faster, and it complies.
The technology is in its early stages. But could it be the seeds of a future when sex with computer operating systems is both standard and convincing?
ASMR/Sex with sound
Since it was founded in 2012, Vibease has sold its wearable smart vibrator (as shown in the above video) that pulsates along to the action in erotic audio stories. To use it, a woman slips the device into her undergarment and chooses from a library of racy fantasies on a smartphone app.
When the narrative intensifies, so do the vibrations of the silicone sex toy. Now instead of simply letting users listen to sexy scenes unfold, the move into responsive technology would take the action into real time. It could take personal pleasure to another level where the user might actually feel like they are with a real person.
Vibease co-founder Dema Tio told Future of Sex the company also has plans to use binaural audio in its recordings. By using two 3D microphones—one for each ear—the resulting sound would create the impression that the listener is in the same room as the erotic storyteller.
A popular benefit to hearing 3D sound is the phenomenon called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), which is the soothing tingling sensation a person feels on their head and scalp. It’s brought on by soft whispers and noises and is sometimes referred to as a brain orgasm.
Giving off the sensation that one is not just being spoken to, but also being touched, offers an interesting opportunity for intimacy between long-distance lovers. Mixing this tech with artificial intelligence may also dampen desire for a flesh-and-blood partner.
Would you make love to an AI?
Featured image source: Hermione Way
Great piece! Thank you Jenna.
This ALMOST sounds like a good idea. BUT, although I adore Joaquin
Phoenix and the story is very creative and different, I got a bit
freaked out at the “sex” scene. I changed the channel. I would not make
love to an Al. Nope. I like real. Since I didn’t watch the whole thing, I
never knew how it ended. I suspected his character had a split
personality and it wasn’t the computer he was relating with at all, but
the female version of himself. He had locked himself away and avoided
real relationships with real women. I still do not see how such a thing
could possibly be good for the mental health, even if it IS a computer.
It still seems very strange to me.
Which “sex” scene are you referring to? There’s one with just the AI voice and another almost sex scene with a surrogate body.
I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner. It has actually been that long since I’ve commented here. I was referring to AI voice. I didn’t get to the surrogate body part. I had walked away because the other had already freaked me out. It was the relationship that was developing and his obsession to the point of cutting himself off from life in order to be intimate with a computer that made me shiver.