It’s 2020, and Roger, a recent divorcé from New York, decides to pay for some female company. So he turns on his computer, connects a robotic vagina to it and starts having sex with Cinnamon, a college student in Sydney with a computer and a remotely controlled robotic penis.

Creeped out yet? Welcome to the future of prostitution.

The digital revolution is transforming all industries, and even the world’s oldest profession isn’t immune. Teledildonics and haptic technology — aka remote-controlled vibrators and tactile feedback — were designed for couples to physically stimulate each other in real time, over the Internet. Now, webcam models are joining in on the fun by adding “interactivity” to their shows and creating what might be a new type of prostitution. Sites like Vcams already offer clients the ability to use a — gasp — robo-penis to have “sex” with the women, while products like RealTouch allow the women to reciprocate the movement.

“The same way manufacturing has been turned upside down by automation, sex work will be turned upside down by automation,” says Seth, who goes by his first name only and is the founder of FriXion, a cutting-edge teledildonics company that’s planning to partner with adult webcam providers. Indeed, sex work is an economic activity. So maybe this is just the next logical step in the mechanization process, which already transformed the way car manufacturers, farmers and even surgeons work.

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