Many of us are terrified that AI will put us out of work, and it seems that even the oldest profession is not immune to the threat.
Because, in the next frontier of sex work, prostitutes are being replaced by “intergalactic pleasure dolls” who have a heart of gold, super-flexible limbs, and the willingness to try anything.
They don’t even insist that you use a condom.
Sex robots used to be the stuff of science fiction, appearing in movies like Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and the Megan Fox vehicle Subservience.
But as silicone dolls become increasingly realistic, they are seen as an increasingly viable – possibly less complicated – alternative to the real thing.
In his new book Sex work todayAuthors Bernadette Barton, Barbara G Brents and Angela Jones reveal that the world’s first AI prostitute has been created to satisfy every desire while teaching her clients about consent.
Kokeshi plies its trade at Berlin’s Cybrothel and is marketed with a peach flavor and a summer rain smell. She has facial piercings, a wide range of bondage items and has a mission to “spread pleasure awareness in a shame-free environment.”
She shares the space with Paris, “a hyper-feminine neighbor,” Guy Rider, “a sensual bisexual doll,” Mistress Oxana, “a German dominatrix,” and “coming soon, Hito, a pixie-style Manga doll with pointy tips.” ears, as well as a blue-skinned alien doll.
Kokeshi is marketed with a peach flavor and a summer rain smell.
Megan Fox played a robot called Alice in the sci-fi thriller Subservience and strips naked in a series of jaw-dropping sex scenes.
The authors write: “When clients first enter the room, they find Kokeshi enjoying a heater to warm her silicone skin, dressed in a curly blue wig and a transparent plastic skirt, with her galactic blue eyes fixed on a bowl of condoms hanging over the bed.” .’
But most importantly, Kokeshi differs from other sex doll brothels in that her owner, Alexis Smiley Smith, has given her “a real personality.” She interacts with clients through Strategically placed cameras and microphones in what she calls an “analog AI” experience.
“My outside room is literally a closet, filled with doll clothes, wigs, a small table with monitors, headphones, an audio mixer and a laptop,” says Smith, who was also a chaperone.
“The equipment is outdated, so it looks like it’s from the early ’90s.”
The book’s authors point out that the experience is, in a way, “phone sex with a shared physical medium.”
At first fearing that her clients would be “incel-type men… who would come to her apartment and have creepy sex” with her, Smith says she “turned her on a little bit” and designed a doll with feminist ideals and a mission to teach the consent.
“Often, I find myself taking control by instructing the client to undress, sit on the bed next to me (Kokeshi), touch my arms, the small curve of my collarbone, or smell my hair,” she said. says.
‘I mention that lube is important and say, “Yes, you can touch me there, thanks for asking.” I reward consent and aim to highlight how important consent is, even in this context.
Kokeshi stocks a wide range of bondage items and has a mission to “spread the awareness of pleasure in a shame-free environment.”
Alicia Vikander plays a robot named Ava who develops feelings for her creator in Ex Machina
Sex robots used to be the stuff of science fiction, appearing in movies like Blade Runner.
“And,” she adds, “yes, I fake orgasms, moan, and call names. After all, this is a form of sex work.
The AI experience, he says, has made his clients too shy to explore their fantasies with human partners.
“I had clients where the wife in a heterosexual relationship wanted a threesome and was more sexually adventurous than her husband, but he was open and understanding.”
While the wife immersed herself in the AI experience, he says, the husband was reticent.
‘Sensing the room, I was able to use Kokeshi, with my voice, to soften the atmosphere and take some pressure off the couple.
‘And I realized that, as a sex worker, I sell more than sex: I sell connection. I can laugh at the champagne cork hitting the ceiling, ask meaningful questions, joke…’
The authors note that scholars have estimated that, by 2045, one in ten young adults will have had a sexual encounter with a humanoid robot.
“That said, it’s not known exactly what role doll brothels will play in future sex-tech ventures.”
Fearing that her clients would be ‘incel-type men’, Smith created Kokeshi with feminist ideals and a ‘queer’ persona.
Smith (left) says: “I aim to highlight how important consent is, even in this context.”
This is because legal measures have closed several brothels. in America, Europe and Asia.
“But in Berlin,” they say, “the market is thriving.”
However, whatever the future holds, they are confident that the human need to connect means we are a long way from seeing dolls, however realistic, take over sex work entirely.
They write: ‘There is something about spontaneous human connection that people crave, perhaps more than sex itself.
“The appeal of a doll that can hold any sexual position indefinitely is one thing, but having someone who encourages you to try new positions is something else entirely.”
Alexis agrees: “I’m sure dolls will never replace human sex workers…the question is, where will their place be?”
Maybe in the closet?
Sex Work Today: Erotic Work in the 21st Century by Bernadette Barton, Barbara G Brents, and Angela Jones is published by NYU Press