Discussion Cyber brothels, AI girlfriends, and VR intimacy: How worried should we be about the sex tech industry?
Discussion Cyber brothels, AI girlfriends, and VR intimacy: How worried should we be about the sex tech industry?
”This isn’t just about inappropriate content, it’s about the normalisation of abusive behaviour and the psychological toll that can have, especially on young or vulnerable users,” says spokesperson Reem Suleiman. “When AI is designed to simulate intimacy without any meaningful safeguards, the potential for manipulation and other psychological harms becomes deeply concerning.”
Consent. Cheating. Legality: in this new cyber space of human interaction, none of it is entirely clear. “One of the wider psychological ramifications of engaging with sex in this digital AI space is the mismatch between user’s expectations of ‘real’ encounters and relationships and the needs and limitations of real people,” says Dr Daria J Kuss, associate professor in psychology at Nottingham Trent University. “The data used to train AI is inherently biased against women, and this also applies in online spaces other than cyber brothels. As a consequence, these spaces run the risk of perpetuating misogynist views, putting at risk the rights of women and other minority groups. Violence against women may be condoned.””
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/cybrothel-berlin-interview-laura-bates-b2755902.html
nordicmodelnow
May 26 2025, 11:49 PM #1“[Laura Bates] argues it would be naive to assume that providing men with the chance to anonymously engage sexually with silicone sex dolls in whatever way they please won’t have ramifications. “We know that misogynistic violence is a crime of escalating patterns,” she says, pointing to Wayne Couzens, who was reported for indecent exposure three times before raping and murdering Sarah Everard. “Already we live in a world in which one in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in their lifetime. Do we really think that making a hyper-realistic ‘woman’ available 24/7 for a man to customise, design and control completely without any ability for her to consent is a good idea?’” […]
”This isn’t just about inappropriate content, it’s about the normalisation of abusive behaviour and the psychological toll that can have, especially on young or vulnerable users,” says spokesperson Reem Suleiman. “When AI is designed to simulate intimacy without any meaningful safeguards, the potential for manipulation and other psychological harms becomes deeply concerning.”
Consent. Cheating. Legality: in this new cyber space of human interaction, none of it is entirely clear. “One of the wider psychological ramifications of engaging with sex in this digital AI space is the mismatch between user’s expectations of ‘real’ encounters and relationships and the needs and limitations of real people,” says Dr Daria J Kuss, associate professor in psychology at Nottingham Trent University. “The data used to train AI is inherently biased against women, and this also applies in online spaces other than cyber brothels. As a consequence, these spaces run the risk of perpetuating misogynist views, putting at risk the rights of women and other minority groups. Violence against women may be condoned.””
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/cybrothel-berlin-interview-laura-bates-b2755902.html
