An Irish law professor has toyed with the idea of robotic brothels, claiming that it would revolutionize the industry in a way that adds sexual variety and curbs trafficking.

They say that our modern human history is but a blip on a blip in time. Over the past 200 years, we’ve steamrolled through every obstacle in our way. We’ve done more in that time than the rest of humanity managed in millennia. Go us.

We’re now on the precipice of a new era. It will be marked with technologies like virtual reality, augmented limbs, and even robots. We’re pushing quite far in all this, so much so that one Irish law professor believes robots could revolutionize the way we have sex.

Of course, this isn’t new. We’ve covered this topic before, discussing how sexbots have made their way into the mainstream. So mainstream, in fact, that certain special interest groups have already campaigned to make them illegal. Whether this could be implemented remains to be seen (robots don’t have rights, after all), but it hasn’t stopped the rapid rise of sexbots.

The professor in question is one John Danaher, of NUI Galway in Ireland. In an interview with British tabloid the Daily Star, Danaher felt expanding the scope of sexbots was possible. Originally forecast as a personal item, Danaher discussed the potential for cyborg brothels.

“Sex robots are good substitutes for human prostitutes,” said Danaher, “the cyborgs can cater for desire [and] sexual variety”. Free from constraint and complication, Danager explained how using sexbots could alleviate many of the issues of prostitution, adding that “they won’t need to ‘fake it'” either.

Most importantly to Danaher, were the ramifications on slavery and human trafficking.

Many people fear human prostitution involves enforced sexual slavery or trafficking. Provided that sex robots do not reach this level of sophistication this will not be a problem. The use of sex robots is typically not subject to legal sanction. The robots can satisfy sexual needs without opening the prostitute, client, pimp or brothel owner up to legal problems.

Human trafficking and sex slavery have always been at the forefront of the discussion on prostitution. This was echoed in a recent development within the British Government, which saw a call for the legalization of brothels. The move was an important one, as many (if not all) sex workers avoid seeking help, for fear of arrest or prosecution.

Around 49% of sex workers claim they fear for their safety. Danaher likely has this in mind when making his statement, and there’s no doubt safety would increase.

Images via Ovodoll

Danaher also explained how sexbots would be considerably cheaper, with dolls easily mass produced to suit the market. Whether this would be welcomed by sex workers remains to be seen. While human trafficking is a problem, there are many who take part by choice, and there are a great number of sex workers who enjoy their profession. There would undoubtedly be competition between human and robotic partners, and with those particular workers who would continue — and even rely on — their profession, things could get complicated.

With sexbots on the rise though, these questions will more than likely be answered. What once began as a gag gift for a friend, sex dolls and robots are becoming more of a reality. As with all budding technologies, prices still remain high, but over time these tend to drop significantly.

What might seem like an outlandish or unrealistic proposal from a professor today could well be reality tomorrow. Let’s just hope we don’t have the cyberpunk dystopia to go along with it.

For more news on tech, be sure to follow LewdGamer on our Twitter and Tumblr accounts.

If you enjoy our content and would like to support us, please consider donating to our Patreon.