Digital: the X industry ready to make sex disappear?

Woody Allen was finally a precursor when he predicted the advent of the orgasm machine in his film "Sleeper" in 1973. More than 40 years later, the idea has made its way and technology is now interfering in our privacy.

Sexually attractive robots

Helen Driscoll, a doctoral student in psychology from the University of Sunderland has just delivered an analysis of human-robot relationships that hints at the future possibility of "robophilia":

According to the psychologist, the replacement of man by machine therefore has its place in a domain as private as sexuality. An argument that supports trends already observed: according to a study by Price Minister-Rakuten, sales of online sex toys doubled between 2010 and 2014, reaching 22 billion euros in turnover in 2013, according to the association Pleasure of France.

But that's not all, because with the commercialization of Oculus Rift virtual reality glasses in 2016, a new market should appear in the sex industry: robot masturbators. VR Tenga, a pioneer in the field, already offers an accessory that simulates a vagina or a penis when the user is playing an immersive game, all for around ten euros.

The business of eroticism in 3D

If adult entertainment is already available to the thousands of privileged people who have tested the Oculus Rift, 3D pornography already exists on other similar devices. The Archos VR headset, for example, is compatible with the "3DXChat" game, which allows players to create an avatar for intimate encounters with other characters, all for a subscription of $20 per month.

While the number of erotic games available on virtual reality glasses is still low, they should grow very soon with the arrival of the Oculus Rift. A market that will compete directly with the porn industry, whose turnover is constantly decreasing due to the appearance of free sites: the sector has recorded less than 0.5% growth per year since 2010, according to analysts from Ibis World.

A risky pleasure

If technological sex could eventually upset certain physical experiences, it nevertheless raises ethical questions, regularly raised by fiction, whether in the series Humans or the film "Her" where the main character falls in love with a system of operation.

The rapprochement between real experience and virtuality also entails psychological dangers, insofar as it can lead to isolation or even tolerate excesses. Ronald Arkin, a researcher from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, quoted by Numérama, expresses his doubts:

If the ethical debate has only just begun, the sex industry already seems ready to take off.

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