Among the traditional vibrators and other sex toys at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai, the beginnings of an AI-driven shift in the sex toy industry was noticeable. Picture: AFP
China manufactures around 70% of the world's sex toys and with the introduction of new AI technology these devices are reaching new heights.
There are already many tech-enhanced products on the market that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and can bring people one step closer to an ultimate sci-fi fantasy sex with robots.
Integrating artificial intelligence has become more popular in the last two years, according to Hannes Hultman, Europe sales manager for Chinese sex toy firm Svakom.
"But it's still very early-stage for a lot of this," he told AFP.
Svakom, one of the better-known Chinese brands overseas, is among those venturing further into the field of teledildonics, using networked toys to create virtual sexual encounters.
One of its masturbators can sync with video to replicate actions on screen, which can be pre-programmed content via it’s app, or with an AI plug-in that watches a video on approved sites in real-time and mimics it.
The company has also partnered with firms that offer AI chatbot "fantasy partners".
"You can ask the AI to control your toy," said Hultman.
"You create your own girlfriend and actually interact. And now you can basically touch your body through the toy."
Sistalk Technology, a Beijing-based company that made phone software before pivoting to the adult industry, also has a feature on its app that allows an AI "girlfriend" to control a toy.
The app can function as a social media platform, with users socialising and sharing their hobbies and likes.
"Although we make sex toys, we're trying to change the mindset of our community and focus less on pornography," he told AFP.
They can also choose to virtually hook up and control each other's sex toys.
Realistic sex robots, meanwhile, seemed a long way off -- the few on display moved jerkily, with limited and badly synced speech.
Experts have flagged the many unanswered ethical questions around the growing use of AI for intimacy.
Another change has been the rise in women customers, said a representative from BeU, a brand that focuses exclusively on toys for women.
Toys now use tech to incorporate aspects of well-being as well as pleasure.
One vibrator on display at the expo was advertised as being able to predict ovulation by measuring internal temperature, as well as help train pelvic floor muscles and another one recognises when their user is climaxing and remembers the pulse patterns that led them there.
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