"Emerging technology has permeated our intimate relationships, altering how we connect, maintain bonds, explore desires, and define love. Online dating platforms, virtual dates, and romantic exchanges via social media remain essential beyond the pandemic, sustaining relationships in the digital realm. Meanwhile, pornography algorithms, innovations like smart sex toys, sexbots, and AI companions can enhance physical intimacy and challenge taboos, providing new avenues for individuals to engage in sexual practices on their own... or directly with artificial products."
"Whoever wants to investigate both the promises and perils of this evolving landscape also needs to build bridges across disciplines (media studies, feminist and sexuality studies, social psychology, anthropology, cultural studies, computer science). Lastly, I believe that the qualitative study required for this type of research should be practice-oriented: beyond regulations, scholars must collaborate with developers towards new designs and raise public awareness within education systems on a large scale."
"Let's start by brushing aside two sticky master narratives. On the one hand, because technology shapes the user's experience and worldview, we should reject a naive instrumental view-the "just a tool" narrative. Technologies are value-laden: they enable, nudge, or inhibit what we do, who we are, what we believe and value. On the other hand, let's not fall into magical thinking by adopting "creature" narratives. In fact, let's leave aside our worries about existential risk and AI doomsday."
Emerging technologies permeate intimate relationships, altering connection, maintenance, desire exploration, and definitions of love through online dating, virtual dates, and social media exchanges. Pornography algorithms, smart sex toys, sexbots, and AI companions expand solo and partnered sexual practices while challenging taboos. Digital ethics require faster, more agile responses than traditional academic publication timelines to address impacts and regulation. Effective investigation demands interdisciplinary collaboration across media studies, feminist and sexuality studies, psychology, anthropology, cultural studies, and computer science. Practice-oriented qualitative research should pair scholars with developers to inform design, regulation, and large-scale public education about intimate technology.
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