Gadgets that allow you to feel a partner at a distance and warn of sexually transmitted diseases, sex robots that fulfill any desire - in the coming decades, these technologies will revolutionize the most intimate sphere of human relations, futurologists say. What sex will be like in the future.
Distance is not a hindrance
American scientists have found that 67 percent of people around the world have sex remotely, exchanging frivolous messages and candid photos. As a result of a survey of 140 thousand people from 98 countries, it was found that sexting (this is what sex at a distance is called) is most often practiced by South African citizens and Americans. The Japanese and Koreans try to avoid this kind of relationship.
“Adults usually have sex with regular partners. This, research shows, leads to greater satisfaction in your sex life. But with teenagers, things are not so simple. Their explicit images can be intercepted by third parties and placed in pornography databases. Such images are used for cyberbullying. Also, for minors, things are much worse with an understanding of what they are ready for, and with an awareness of their own needs and desires, "said medical journalist Elena Foer, author of the book" Sex. Sex. "At the non / fiction book fair in Moscow. From the neurobiology of libido to virtual porn. Popular Science Guide ".
According to the co-author of the book, scientific journalist Daria Varlamova, about 40 percent of teenagers practice sexting, and every fifth person shares intimate photos with their interlocutor.
There is nothing reprehensible in such an exchange of frivolous messages and pictures, scientists at the University of Texas believe. This is a normal element of the sexual development of adolescents, in no way related to the number of sexual partners in the future.
Sexting - exchange of frivolous messages and candid photos - popular all over the world. Most often they are engaged in South Africa and the United States. Illustration by RIA Novosti. Source: Kinsey Institute, Sex & Tech Survey Results.
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Feel your loved one through the screen
In August of this year, a patent for teledildonics expired - a technology that allows tactile, temperature and other sensations to be transmitted via the Internet, similar to those that occur during real sexual intercourse. This means that in the near future a lot of teledildonic gadgets will appear on the market. According to experts, on this wave, the sex toy industry may become one of the fastest growing in the world.
“Teledildonics already exists. There are gadgets designed for full-fledged sex at a distance. How do they work? The two devices connect to each other (usually based on a dedicated chat platform) and transmit feelings between partners. Typically it's pressure and vibration,”Foer explained.
“This is not a super subtle sensation, rather, just a transfer of movement, so that you can feel what your partner would like to do with you or does in his imagination. For couples who develop long-distance relationships, this is a very good solution. These devices allow you to have sex over the Internet with at least some degree of tactility,”Varlamova clarified.
Some companies are already trying to combine this kind of sex toys with VR headsets to enhance the immersive experience.
Oh sex, you're a sport
Modern sex toys are capable of not only transmitting sensations, but also controlling physiology. So, in 2014, the range of intimate goods was replenished with a fitness ring worn on the penis. Via Bluetooth, the gadget connects to a smartphone and sends there data on calories burned and the number of movements per minute.
British engineers have developed a smart condom - a ring that is worn over a regular condom. Now this gadget is not much different from competitors, except that it gives extended statistics: in addition to calories, it indicates the duration of intercourse, their frequency, the number of positions used per week, month and year, changes in penis girth and skin temperature. But soon a smart condom will be able to warn the user about what the partner is sick with: an indicator of sexually transmitted infections is going to be installed on the gadget.
A similar device from another manufacturer, during intercourse, sends sex advice to the smartphone on how to proceed.
“So far, the usefulness of information from trackers and its reliability are in serious doubt. Today these gadgets are only good for having fun,”says Daria Varlamova.
Pleasure robot
Back in 2006, Henrik Christensen, a specialist at the European Research Center for Robotics, promised that by 2011 people would have sex with robots. So far, nothing like this has happened, but the sex doll industry is confidently moving in this direction.
“Sex dolls have been around for a long time, technology is developing, robots are more and more like humans. Today, all kinds of intelligent systems are built into dolls - like Alice created by Yandex. They can keep the conversation going, but this is conditional. Puppets often don't understand the context. It takes powerful semantic analysis before artificial intelligence gets it. Nevertheless, the developers are trying to give the dolls some rudiments of character. For example, more stubbornness or tenderness, make the doll more affectionate. One model has even built in jealousy to make the user feel the most attractive,”said Daria Varlamova.
The appearance of humanoid robots that satisfy any sexual desire of the owner - and this, judging by the forecasts of futurologists, will certainly happen - puts people in front of a difficult choice. First, there may be no need for a real partner. Secondly, there are fears that the use of dolls will lead to the objectification of living women, from whom they will expect the same thing as from smart sex toys - complete obedience and fulfillment of all the desires of a man.
However, professor at the University of London Keith Delvin, author of the book "Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots", urges not to be afraid of robots. The main thing is that they are as abstract as possible - the same as modern sex gadgets. Then artificial lovers will not compete with real human relationships.
Alfiya Enikeeva