The ability of sex robots to physically and emotionally mimic real people—often idealized and overly sexualized women—to provide satisfying intimacy experiences is a key innovation and a significant risk factor.
For example, a developer looking to improve the user experience of a sex robot could create a machine learning algorithm to increase trust between human users and the robot. Trust certainly benefits intimacy. However, once developed, this technology could be used in sex robots and other forms to instill trust, possibly even against the interests of users.
Advanced machine learning could enable robots to develop love and affection, access personal information, or manipulate and influence behavior. All of these abilities are theoretically possible, and perhaps more importantly, they could be lucrative for AI sex robots.
With a reported $30 billion global technology value, the market could provide incentives for the development of AI features that may be more important than shiny silicone sex dolls.
Internet sex toys and sex robots not only increase traditional risks, but also introduce new cybersecurity risks that cannot be fully addressed under existing regulatory processes for other products. These risks include lax security measures that allow unauthorized parties to collect and store usage data or videos, or the possibility of remote-controlled sex toys being hacked.
With the Teledildonics patent expiring in August 2018, the online linear toy industry is now poised for rapid expansion without consumer protection. The development of artificial intelligence in sex robot sex doll could increase consumer exposure to existing traditional and cybersecurity risks of sex toys.
