Sex and sex dolls in Japan

Robotica global capital

Part II

by: Roanne van Voorst

Amsterdam, Auhust 11th 2021– In Japan, where a large part of the sex dolls is produced, more and more young men seem to have such a doll at home. 

No more real people in their bed for them: these dolls always make sense, never a headache, and their buttocks stay tight forever. 

The protesting residents of the former Spanish brothel feared a clientele of “freaks,” the defeated owner told me. 

But, he argued, they weren’t paying enough attention to the potential benefits of sex dolls for humanity. 

Prisoners, who would otherwise become sexually frustrated, can indulge their fantasy and lust on a sex doll. Extremely shy people, who simply do not dare to make contact with human species, can still have a sexual experience. 

Women who have a clumsy or lazy bed partner at home can still get their sexual comfort in this way. With a fake human, yes, but with an increasingly human-looking fake: hard work is underway to bring lifelike sex dolls to the market that will feel warmer in temperature than my Nick and whose chest rises and falls as if they were breathing. 

Sex robots already exist that can pronounce sentences, and the hope of their producers is that their successors will soon not only sound smarter than Alexa or Siri on your phone, but also have stored in their algorithmic brain which erotic position you prefer. 

David Levy

And then there was the argument from some feminists, as shared in academic articles and on activist blogs: the rise of sex dolls has reduced the number of people having to do sex work. Soon we can leave that to robot slaves, they exulted, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether the current sex workers are also so enthusiastic about the predicted, imminent loss of their jobs. 

I had transferred part of the amount to be paid (60 euros per hour) to Nick’s owner in advance – the rest had to be paid in cash, on the spot. 

Only after I arrived at Vienna airport did I receive instructions about the address. The brothel turned out to be located in a fairly upscale residential area, inconspicuous between stately front doors and tall windows. The curtains closed, next to the doorbell a small sign with the company name. The owner welcomed me kindly from behind a counter, counted my money, led me towards Nick, down a corridor with closed doors on either side. Behind those doors are female sex dolls, the owner told me – some of them had customers over. Nick was his only male employee and especially popular among homosexuals.

“They come back again and again, because of his…” That big cock, yes, yes. A moment later I lay next to it and looked at it, despite my warm sweater shivering in the cold room. Nick really looked Madame Tussauds-esque, I concluded. After a minute or two, I stabbed a finger into his silicone chest. 

It bounced slightly, underneath it felt unbending hard. His penis felt the same, I noticed afterwards. Encouraged by his silent assent to anything I would say, I began to muttering to Nick.

That I realized that the academic discussion of his ilk was currently focusing on the wrong aspect of their existence. In preparation for this meeting, I read dozens of academic articles about robots behaving and appearing increasingly humane. 

Just wait until they get smarter than us, scientists in those pieces warn — after all, the World Economic Forum was already predicting “empathetic robots” that will act autonomously and be empathetic!

Now that I’ve met you, Nick, I realize that we have to prioritize a very different question,” I said. “Not: how human can robots look and behave? But: what effect do such dolls and robots have on our humanity?”

See part III

Roanne van Voorst

Anton Foek met with David Levy producing a documentary

Read also about David Eggers novel describing how social media an artificial intelligence transform society.