Do you remember your first kiss, first time on a date, or your first time being intimate with a partner? Now ask yourself this—how might that experience have been different if it had occurred in virtual reality, or utilized an artificial intelligence, or been communicated wordlessly through neural implants? Technology is a powerful shaper of human social and political behavior, and as we inch toward a transhumanist world of human-computer integration, a major, and often over-looked question is: how will these advancements alter human dating and mating?
First, he hopes Neuralink will restore some autonomy to paralyzed individuals by allowing them to control simple computer interfaces with their minds. While this idea is fairly boilerplate as far as sci-fi goes, the great reward of this genre is the opportunity to see all the different directions a diverse set of authors might take a basic idea.
You never know what consequences a mechanic might see in a piece of hypothetical tech that a sociologist might not, and vice versa. My thoughts on new tech are filtered through my professional lens as a licensed couple and family therapist who provides sex therapy to a wide array of clientele.
In the case of a technology like Neuralink, which promises a near-future where our minds will begin to integrate with computers, my first thought was: how will people use this for sexual pleasure and romance? Sex is an intrinsic human need that drives much of our behavior, and there is always a huge demand in the market for new ways to find partners or engage in erotic pleasure.
As such, we often find ways to sexualize new technology. Clearly, we are good at turning new tech into a tool for dating, mating, and sexual pleasure. There is no doubt that whatever the next big technological shift is, people will find a way to capitalize on its possible sexual and romantic appeals. If that new technology is a chip that goes in your brain so you can interface with the internet, then the possibilities are endless—good, bad, and weird.
