'Early-stage' AI begins to make waves at China sex toy expo

SHANGHAI, China — Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an AI-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed.

China manufactures around 70 percent of the world's sex toys, most of it the "hardware" on display at the fair -- whether that be technicolour tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalised silicone dolls.

But smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and American brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to an ultimate sci-fi fantasy -- sex with robots.

Integrating artificial intelligence has become more popular in the last two years, according to Hannes Hultman, Europe sales manager for Chinese sex toy firm Svakom.

"But it's still very early-stage for a lot of this," he told AFP on Friday.

Svakom, one of the better-known Chinese brands overseas, is among those venturing further into the field of teledildonics, using networked toys to create virtual sexual encounters.

One of its masturbators can sync with video to replicate the actions on screen -- either with preprogrammed content via Svakom's app, or with an AI plug-in that watches a video on approved sites in real-time and mimics it.

The company has also partnered with firms that offer AI chatbot "fantasy partners".

"You can ask the AI to control your toy," said Hultman. "You create your own girlfriend and actually interact. And now you can basically touch your body through the toy."

Sistalk Technology, a Beijing-based company that made phone software before pivoting to the adult industry, also has a feature on its app that allows an AI "girlfriend" to control a toy.

A salesperson told AFP that demand from China's younger generation, with more disposable income and higher standards, was changing the market.

"Although we make sex toys, we're trying to change the mindset of our community and make (the focus) less pornographic," he said.

Sistalk's app can function as a social media platform, with users socialising and sharing their hobbies and likes.

They can also choose to