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Technical and psychological obstacles
Nevertheless, Levy is convinced the demand is there and that market forces will provide the financial drive to overcome any technical – or psychological – obstacles. "It is only a matter of time before someone in the adult entertainment industry, which is awash in money, thinks, 'Gee, I could make a pile of money'," he says.
A company in Japan, Axis, has already produced the world's first, rudimentary sexbot for men. Called Honeydolls, the life-size figures are made from surgical-grade silicone and resin, and are equipped with voice-emitting sensors in each breast.
Pinch the nipples, and 'Cindy' (or 'Soari' or 'Maria', depending on the model) will react with a squeal and whisper pre-programmed sweet nothings in one's ear. Customised MP3 audio files can be substituted for a more personal touch. Price tag: US$7,000.
Women, too, are eventually bound to be lured to sexbots, contends Levy. "I don't think that women will be any less attracted than men – they may be more attracted," he says, pointing to a worldwide surge in the sale of vibrators, boosted by the lifting of taboos, ease of purchase and media endorsement.
Levy, who once made a living organising chess championships, unusually wrote his book first then tweaked it to present as a doctoral thesis at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. The work has generated what he calls a "tsunami" of media interest since its publication last year and from an unusually broad spectrum of publications.
"In March, I will be featured in Scientific American, and in April there will be an article in Hustler," says the futurist.
"People are still going to feel like losers"
But what for Levy is a dream of endless sex without guilt or disease is, for others, a nightmare of bleakness. "I think it is far-fetched to think that human beings are going to fall in love with robots," says New York-based sexologist Yvonne K. Fulbright, author of numerous books on sex and sexuality.
She acknowledges that sexbots will probably find a niche market, especially with men seeking to fulfil fantasies their flesh-and-blood partners might be refusing. "But there will be a real stigma attached to sex robots. People are still going to feel like losers if that is their last resort," she says.
Fulbright thinks Levy is even further off-base when it comes to women. It is a huge leap, she said, to think that because women stimulate themselves with gadgets that they are going to embrace robot partners.
"Women may say that they adore and love their vibrators. But they don't mean that they are in love with them."
Marlowe Hood is a writer for the AFP news agency.
