Next year may be the year of the robot lover. Despite fears of automation in the workplace, some futurists predict that machines will target our love lives in 2025. Dr. Ian Pearson, a physics and math PhD, anticipates that high-income, very wealthy households will start to see forms of robot sex. He also predicts that women might overtake men in the adoption of sex robots by 2025, partly because they already have a technological head start. Vibrators have been around for over a century, and the industry has now developed teledildonics, mechanical sex toys that operate remotely.
Some analysts suggest that the market for human-like sexbots, which can cost more than $15,000, is often imagined to be male dominated. However, Dr. Cathy O’Neil, a Harvard-trained mathematician and data scientist, believes that it’s the men who should be worried, as robots can outperform them.
The market for sex dolls is already nearing parity between men and women, suggesting a potential gender flip in the future. Delaware-based firm Realbotix introduced a sexbot for women in 2018, named “Henry,” which can cost up to $15,600. Henry can perform jokes, make “sexy noises,” and provide “superhuman sexual performance” with optional extras.
According to Dr. Pearson, by 2025, women could overtake men in the adoption of sex robots. By 2030, most people will have had virtual sex. By 2035, sex toys will be better developed, and virtual reality sex will be a norm. By 2050, sex with robots will overtake sex with other humans.