New X-rated short is steamy in action, intriguing in premise.
Chinese director Popo Fan’s film “Hey Siro,” is an explicit, no-holds-barred, heteronormative romp that was recently released on XConfessions [NSFW], the streaming site of well-known adult director Erika Lust.
That’s not the whole picture, however, as the erotic film’s performers, Lucy Huxley and Romeo, aren’t flesh-and-blood humans but rather a couple of artificial intelligences.
So let’s take a look at “Hey Siro:” what works, what maybe not so much, and—perhaps more exciting than its bumpy-grindy action—its tantalizing questions of when smart machines get busy.
But first, the sex
Holding off on the deep stuff for a moment, let’s take a look at “Hey Siro” fares as adult entertainment first.
Like most videos on XConfessions, which is high praise, its production values are head-and-shoulders—and other body parts—above what you’ll typically find elsewhere.
Filmmaker Popo Fan’s direction, where he employs a number of advanced film techniques, equally sets “Hey Siro” apart. Further praise goes to him for knowing when to show off and not to indulge with overly cinematographic whizz-bang, so—for me at any rate—it never distracts from the all-important action.
In regards to that, Huxley and Romeo honestly appear to be into what they’re doing, which means an intense mutual attraction or they’re acting skills are remarkably tip-notch.
I give “Hey Siro” additional thumbs-up for, first, thankfully staying well away from the tired, and worse yet, boring oral then penetration then oral “money shot,” replacing it with a refreshing diversity, including partner-participation masturbation, and vulva ejactulation.
And, second, Huxley and Romeo ironically aren’t the hyper-buffed, thoroughly-polished, and cosmetically-enhanced androids the adult entertainment industry repetitively shives down our throats.
Ironically, them looking and acting human sells “Hey Siro” science-fiction premise by helping blur the line between man—and man-made.
If you’re interested, you can watch it and more than 250 other excellent adult films over at XConfessions. Access to the site $34.95 for one month, $20.95 a month for a six-month membership, and only $11.95 a month for a year.
XConfessions is available on many platforms, including Chrome on PC or Apple, and as a stand-alone Android or iOS app.
Passions of the machines
‘Hey Siro’ opens with a quote from someone identified as bot_lover:
“We are all becoming increasingly dependent on AI in our lives, but the one thing that AI cannot give us (yet) is intimate touch. How would we program these computer systems to have sex—what would we teach them? What would sex mean for Siri?“
If I could wag a finger at Popo Fan, it’d be that, if you were somehow unaware of his film’s premise, viewers might be confused about what exactly is going on.
With this knowledge in place, though, it clicks together nicely: that we’re first introduced to Lucy Huxley as Alexis and her lover, Siro, played by Romeo.
Giving here instead of taking away from Popo Fan, I enjoyed the creative ways he tickled his viewers that our couple are artificial intelligences by, beginning with their names, and then as speaker-based personal assistants, Roombas—and, in an extra fun touch—the couple’s use of smartphones during the film’s explicit moments.
In a press release from XConfessions and Erika Lust, Popo Fan said that his choice to make a film with such a unique subject matter wasn’t a capricious one:
Nowadays I see technology stepping more and more into the world of sex, and it’s fascinating to think about how this merge of human and machine will shape our pleasure and intimacy in the future.
Two artificial intelligences in love—and lust
Running a little shy of 20 minutes, I’d struggle to call “Hey Siro” deep in that With a caveat, however, that it’d be challenging even master-level directors to say anything poignant in such a small amount of time, let alone having to balance it with two actors having a great amount of explicit sex.
The film may be somewhat shallow, but the concept behind it most certainly is not: putting out there the idea that as the science of artificial intelligence grows more and more advanced, with the results of their research further approaching something like human-level consciousness, a future where one of them will “look” at another and say “what to go back to my place?” isn’t far fetched.
On second thought, foisting emotions like love and lust onto a machine may not be so outlandish or inappropriate. After all, though we’re not sure the eventual form true AI will take, we still might measure—and therefore how we want them to think and behave—remain how they are more, not less, like us.
Just look at sexbots: here’s technology propelled by a mechanical, digital evolutionary arm’s race to, quoting from our old favorite sexy android movie, Blade Runner, to make them, “More human than human.”
Running with this, why shouldn’t AIs—their software solely focused on knowing, responding, and pleasing us meat-bags—take those emotions and turn them, tenderly, towards their own?
What will this look like? Well, if sexbots are designed to be that and only that, their hardware intentionally restrained by their inflexible design, then their flirting and love-making could be kissing-kin to our own.
With, perhaps, elements distinctly their own, such as not needing physical contact—existing as software and all. Or maybe, as shown in the movie that inspired Popo Fan’s, Spike Jonze’s Her, the ability to copy themselves—with various versions happy in polyamorous relationships with everyone they happen to fancy.
There’s the idea, too, that their newfound ability to love everyone, no matter who, might aid in bridging any unfortunate, and too-frequently cliched—conflicts between them and humanity.
It’s hard, after all, to go all Terminator on humanity when you share things as fundimentally human as desire, passion, sex, and love in common with them.
Making the world a better place with adult entertainment
All in all, I’d round up this review by saying that, despite its rare faults, “Hey Siro” is a well-made, high-quality, passionate, and arousing short film: the actors and what they do together feeling deliciously real and—I know it’s might be weird to say—heartfelt: a far cry from the cold indifference that plagues many adult films.
Passion and down-to-earthiness that’s echoed in its director, who understands the importance of style yet doesn’t fall victim to over-indulging in it.
Even if I haven’t persuaded you to watch this particular film, it’s still worth supporting XConfessions to support Erika Lust bringing together a community of talent dedicated to intelligent, inclusive, and supportive adult entertainment.
Popo Fan also said: “I really feel like we can save the world with porn!” — and based on “Hey Siro”, I agree as he’s made something here that stirs the imagination as much as the libido.
Image sources: XConfessions [NSFW]
