With the technological advances of our time, customer demands continue evolving and sparking innovation: in adult entertainment, the world´s transformation is now apparent with Berlin´s latest launch of the AI brothel.
With prostitution legalised in Germany, the sector continues evolving; this June, people will be able to book an hour with an AI sex doll in a one-of-a-kind brothel in Berlin. Customers will have both verbal and physical access to the AI dolls.
The founder of Cybrothel, Philipp Fussengger, shared some of the causes for this development; “Many people feel more comfortable sharing private matters with a machine because it doesn´t judge.” Although the AI dolls are simply not capable of judging, some of the public is concerned about data protection and ethics.
“It’s crucial that we understand what kinds of data sets are used to train sex chatbots, otherwise we risk replicating ideas about sex that demean female pleasure and ignore sex that exists outside of heterosexual intercourse,” argued Dr Kerry Mclenerey, senior researcher at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.
With the reduction of human-to-human contact, many are concerned about the growth in altered perceptions of consent and unrealistic expectations of sexual intercourse and human relationships. This may lead to increased isolation and addiction due to excessive use.
Moreover, the subject of health and safety has been raised, as the public questions the maintenance and proper cleaning of the AI dolls.
Despite the rising concerns, the brothel is expecting a large number of customers. SplitMetrics (AI-driven app store) recently shared that more than 225 million downloads have been made of AI companion apps on the Google Play Store.
The CEO of the company, Thomas Kriebernegg, highlighted that a surge in the market is now expected, as app developers and businesses will continue capitalizing on the use of AI, applying it to every sector of our society, including what was once, despite money, a human contact.
