Man behind 2025 ‘sex with robots’ prediction slams ‘media fabrication’ of original claim

A ‘futurist’ who made headlines back in 2016 for reportedly predicting that “women will be having more sex with robots than men in 2025” has criticised what he claims is a “media fabrication” of his original assertion, as social media users have delighted in pointing out such a tech revolution is yet to occur.

The Sunled coverage almost a decade ago of remarks made by Dr Ian Pearson, an author and ‘futurologist’ (that’s someone who predicts future trends and events, by the way), in a paper commissioned by the adult shop Bondara titled The Rise of the Robosexuals.

The report, available via the Internet Archive, sees Dr Pearson write: “A lot of people will still have reservations about sex with robots at first but gradually as they get used to them, as the AI (artificial intelligence) and mechanical behaviour and their feel improves, and they start to become friends with strong emotional bonds, that squeamishness will gradually evaporate.”

The Sun’s article also said Dr Pearson believed “robot sex will be more common than human intercourse by 2050”.

But given we’ve just entered a new year, Twitter/X accounts have mocked the sci-fi prediction which is yet to materialise:

And in the final days of 2024, people were excited about what was supposedly just around the corner:

However, in emails to indy100 on Monday, Dr Pearson criticised reporters mocking the “alleged prediction”, which he described as “only a media fabrication”.

He said the “majority of articles” he has seen have headlines relating to women having more sex with robots than with men, but pointed out the original quote from his Bondara article said something rather different.

“’While some people will enthusiastically embrace relationship-free robot sex as soon as they can afford one, as early as 2025, it won’t have much chance of overtaking sex with humans overall until 2050.'

“[This] is not the same at all, but that doesn't get as many clicks, I guess.”

Dr Pearson’s comments echo those made to Know Your Meme recently, in which he said: “[The tabloids] were saying that it would be ‘most’ by 2025 whereas that’s not what the original report says, is it?”

He told the meme directory that his actual prediction – that sex with robots will be “starting in 2025” and may “catch up with humans by 2050” – is “still probably accurate”, and that “the technology is virtually here already”.

Dr Pearson explained the reasoning behind his original prediction to indy100 concerns a technology platform known as ‘Active Skin’ which he invented in 2001.

“Among the 600 uses we identified, one of the more attractive options is the ability to record and replay sensations.

“If someone had their erogenous zones printed with this tech (an hour in a clinic, painless compressed air implants of micron-sized particles), they'd be able to record any sensations, including the best sex they have ever had, and could replay them when they want.

“If they were to have sex with an android, the android could easily recreate those sensations while 'performing', reliably creating the most pleasurable sex the person can experience.

“Her human lover has an emotional advantage, which with improving AI is slowly decreasing, but the android would win every time on physical sensations.

“So, perhaps by 2050, when most people have androids around the home, that likely look and feel like the ones on Humans or Westworld, they would likely have strong emotional connections to them, and they can provide on-demand perfect sex as an option - hence my prediction.”

And what’s more, the arrival of sex robots has been predicted by other researchers in the past (indeed, by another scientist in the same year Dr Pearson’s calculations were reported by The Sun, in 2016), and in 2018 there were reports of a sex robot which could refuse sex if she’s bored, so the tech is certainly emerging.

Not only that, but a study from April last year revealed people were up for… *ahem*… getting down with a robot, while a 2017 poll by NowTV found two thirds of male Brits were up for having sex with a robot, and two in five people wouldn’t consider sleeping with a robot cheating.

So, could we soon see discussions about wireless infidelity as well as wireless fidelity? Only time will tell…

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