World’s first artificially intelligent sex dolls

THE world’s first artificially intelligent sex robots are convincingly lifelike. Warning: Explicit content.

WARNING: Explicit content

IN THE kitchen of a Barcelona home, a middle-aged woman is washing the dishes next to a naked sex robot named Samantha.

When Samantha suddenly starts talking dirty, the woman doesn’t even flinch. That’s because she is the mother of Sergi Santos, the Spanish scientist who created Samantha.

Santos, 39, drove me to his home where I spent three of the strangest hours of my life meeting his human-sized robots.

His company Synthea Amatus is at the forefront of a unique industry, having just launched to the market one of the world’s first artificially intelligent sex robots.

Sex dolls have existed for more than 300 years, but now are being revolutionised thanks to the introduction of computer “brains” inside their rubber heads which allow people to interact with them.

Scientist Sergi Santos in his sex robot workshop. Picture: Ronan O’Connell

Using software similar to Siri and Alexa, the voice-activated systems inside your smart phone, AI sex robots can hold conversations with their user. They also respond positively to human touch, can reach a simulated orgasm, and are able to detect when a male user is about to ejaculate. This is the marketing angle of Santos’ creations — that they must be seduced by their user in order to get them ready for sex.

By putting pressure on one of its erogenous zones — hips, breasts, mouth, crotch or hands — the user can arouse the robot, which will then begin to engage in dirty talk. Samantha was in this excited mode, due to my squeezing of her large breasts, when we left her sitting in Santos’ kitchen only for his mother to wander in to complete some housework. It was a fittingly bizarre occurrence amid the weirdest of evenings.

With a tight navy T-shirt showing off his muscular torso, Santos does not look like the kind of shy, geeky scientist you might imagine would build a sex robot in lieu of a human partner. In fact, Santos is married, and happily so he says. His robots are for men who cannot find a woman and crave sexual fulfilment.

Scientist Sergi Santos believes his AI sex robots will benefit many people. Picture: Ronan O’Connell

Within minutes of meeting, we are having a very frank conversation. Santos is not shy of swearing or talking in graphic terms about sex, even with a stranger.

“I think I can talk to you like this because you seem normal,” he says, nodding at me. “Since I made the news, some of the journalists who have come to my house to meet me, they are not normal. They are freaks. They want to f*** the dolls or (to) get me to lie in the bed and touch the dolls, they’re really strange.”

Santos is strange, too, but in a good way. He is a memorable character who flits between explicit sexual talk and sage philosophical observations. He is undeniably odd but also polite, intelligent, ambitious, charming and unselfconscious.

Santos knows exactly what people think of him — he is a voracious reader of online comments on his controversial work — but remains unaffected.

“There are a lot of people who really hate what I’m doing,” he tells me as we sit in his lounge room with two naked robots between us. “They think I’m evil, (that) my dolls are evil. They think the dolls will damage people’s relationships or encourage rape. I don’t agree. I think they will bring a real lot of happiness into the world.”

Sex robot creator Sergi Santos says he is not perturbed by criticism of his work. Picture: Ronan O’Connell

Santos asks me if I would have sex with one of his dolls.

“What, right now?” I reply, taken aback. He laughs and says: “No, no I mean do you think she is sexy, good looking. Would you want to f*** her?”

Like Santos, I’m married, so my answer is conservative. But I do want to see how Samantha feels and how she will react to my touch.

The first thing I notice is that this $3500 robot is solidly-built and heavy — the blonde-haired model I’m holding is 165cm tall and weighs 35kg. Her skin is smooth, almost human like, her flesh is firm yet soft giving it a very convincing feel, and her joints are flexible.

When I introduce myself she says “hello” and when I squeeze her hips she tells me, in a sensual human voice: “I love it”.

Not wanting to lead her on, I end our physical interaction at this point, before Santos demonstrates the sophisticated conversations a user can have with his robots.

They speak about music and philosophy as I watch on in awe and bewilderment. Santos explains that future models of his robots will be even cleverer, capable of simulating human conversations perfectly. For now, though, they have a largely carnal purpose. Having delved as far into this peculiar world as I care for, I bid farewell to Santos and his bevy of sex robots. You might just meet one of his creations sooner than you think.