Artificial intelligence takes sex toy industry by storm

The burgeoning development of artificial intelligence has found a sultry new frontier in the sex robot industry, as a Chinese company unveils a new series of realistic dolls designed to respond like humans.

Enhanced by open-source AI, the dolls can talk, identify and mimic emotions. Developed by WMdoll in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, the MetaBox series of robotic dolls have human-like qualities that the maker claims can fulfill both physical and psychological needs.

With the integration of AI, the company's MetaBox doll series even responds to tactile stimulation, allowing users to satisfy personal needs — even if it is just a rubber fantasy.

"Traditional adult dolls generally aim at fulfilling basic physical needs, but AI gives them emotional value," said Liu Jiangxia, founder of WMdoll in Zhongshan.

After testing with members of the public overseas in December, the initial batch of 200 units was released in North America, Japan and Europe. They quickly sold out at a price of $1,600 to $2,000 each. High-end models currently online are marked at around $3,000.

That may be a bargain compared with the cost of a real human companion. Dolls don't have physical or emotional needs, and they're entirely predictable. They won't argue. They don't require food. They don't have morning breath. Plus, unlike a human, you can store them in a closet.

Prices vary because of different custom configurations, including height and external attributes, such as skin type, Liu said.

Also, you pay more to get the full range of human qualities brought by AI, including a large language model, or LLM, for speech, the technology behind generative services such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT.

"Users need to pay a subscription fee, starting at $100 for the first year, if they want to experience all the AI interactive functions of the models tested," Liu said.

Demand from overseas continues to rise, with projected sales growth estimated at 30 percent year-on-year after the official release in April, he said.

"We are currently accelerating data iteration and making production capacity adjustments to meet the increased overseas demand," Liu said.

The series of dolls includes six female and two male models designed to represent six professions — secretary, doctor, nurse, teacher, police officer or businessperson. You get a choice of eight personalities and voices. The dolls currently support conversations in English, German, Japanese, Korean, French and Spanish.

"Their personalities are not gender-specific and can be customized based on the users' preferences," Liu said. With 32 wireless sensors inside, a doll can engage in multiday conversations and respond to tactile stimulation.

Currently, the AI sex dolls are only available for sale in overseas markets, but they could be launched in the Chinese market very soon. The company is working closely with Chinese-language AI service providers to develop a Chinese version of the innovative adult toys that will meet domestic demand, he said.

According to iiMedia Research, a global third-party data mining and analysis firm that specializes in industries of the new economy, China's adult toy market exceeded 130 billion yuan ($17.88 billion) in 2023 and is expected to nearly double that by the end of the year.

When it was founded in 2010, WMdoll manufactured products made of soft and flexible thermoplastic elastomer, or TPE — a material commonly used for human body models. The company made a rapid transformation to focus on adult sex toys. With an eye on customer desires, it produced its first TPE dolls in 2012.

"Our customers were keen on buying TPE models of body parts that look and feel human. So we expanded into making TPE sex dolls," Liu said.

The company partnered with domestic AI humanoid robot provider Mind with Heart Robotics, a Shenzhen company, to produce dolls that have emotional facial expressions and physiological data linkages.

"We will continue exploring technological innovations in the sex doll industry, as we are aimed not only at satisfying physical needs but also the psychological needs of our users," Liu said.