Robots In The Bedroom!

While the idea of having sexual relations with a robot sounds farfetched, technology has advanced enough that we begin to wonder: to what degree can machines take over? Will there be a day when the artificially intelligent plays a role in even the most intimate of human acts?

- Hannah May-Lee Wong

The future is as much elusive as it is exciting. In the 1985 film Back to the Future, they depicted 2015 with flying cars and hoverboards. While we are far from that, the technological arena has come a long way since the 90s and even the early 2000s. Techies would tell you that we are living in a big data world. The very definition of big data is that machines can now store extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations, especially relating to human behaviour and interaction. It’s no secret that social media and webpages rake in millions, even billions by using collected data and personal information from their users for advertising and marketing purposes.

But what happens when our tendencies and idiosyncrasies are so predictable, they can be automated even in the realm of sex and sexuality? A panel of opinion leaders share their thoughts in a fascinating discussion on the future of technology and the possibility of robots in our sex life.

REDEFINING SEX AND SEXUALITY

In a world that is changing rapidly, we are constantly adapting to new ways of life. Something as natural as talking to one another can now be done without even being on the same continent, and we shop without needing to step out of our home. Human to human interaction is decreasing as artificial intelligence takes over more areas of our lives. Even the most intimate of human relations – sex – can be performed remotely. But it all depends on how we define sex. Do two people necessarily need to be in the same room to call it that?