IT’S a city famous for its landmarks and culture.
But beneath Berlin’s vibrant exterior is a disturbing underworld of cyber adult entertainment.
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The German capital is the first place in the world to open an AI brothel, which allows people to book an hour with artificially advanced “sex dolls” ready to grant their every wish – however depraved that may be.
Writer Laura Bates experienced Cybrothel first hand when she visited for her new book The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny.
And in an interview on the Should I Delete That? podcast, Laura explained she made a custom request of the brothel – for her robot doll to have her clothes slashed and torn, just to “see if they did it” – and found they were happy to, with “no questions asked”.
You can even order a doll “covered in blood”, Laura said.
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“I genuinely think it’s the most f**ked up thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” podcast host Em Clarkson said.
But Cybrothel co-owner Matthias Smetana insisted of the sessions available there: “If you are here, the only person who can judge you is yourself.”
“We have a lot of people who have never been in touch with sex work, who are really down to try it but are looking for a safe space,” he told news.com.au.
“If you face performance anxiety, this doesn’t go in Cybrothel as you are dealing with sex toys, not humans.”
And it’s not just in a cyber brothel in Berlin that people are able to “enjoy” the perks of an AI sex robot – advancing technology means you can have one in your pocket too.
“What no one is talking about is that you can download a version of this,” Laura said.
“So the same exact thing that lives in your pocket and it’s called an AI girlfriend or an AI chatbot, and you can create her again to look exactly how you want her to look.
“You can customise everything. You get to pick her name. She will be there moving on the screen.”
The avatar can even be made to look so realistic that it feels like you’re FaceTiming her.
“If you’re a teenage boy, you can have her. You can have as many as you like,” Laura said.
“You can access them for free.”
The fact that the “women” are AI also means that men can “abuse them” without any fear of the consequences.
Are brothel’s legal in the UK?
There has been a growing debate in the UK about whether brothels should be legalised, following the emergence of pop-up brothels across the country. These temporary establishments, often set up in residential areas, have sparked concerns among local communities and law enforcement agencies. The current legal framework in the UK criminalises the operation of brothels, but individual sex work is permitted. This has led to a complex and often problematic situation for those involved in the industry.
Advocates for legalising brothels argue that regulation could improve safety and working conditions for sex workers. By bringing the industry out of the shadows, they believe that sex workers would have better access to health services and legal protection, reducing the risks of exploitation and violence. Furthermore, regulated brothels could be subject to health and safety standards, ensuring a safer environment for both workers and clients.
On the other hand, opponents of legalisation worry that it could lead to an increase in human trafficking and exploitation. They argue that normalising the sex industry might encourage more people to become involved in it, both as workers and clients. Additionally, there are concerns about the impact on local communities, with fears that legalised brothels could lead to an increase in crime and antisocial behaviour in residential areas.
As the debate continues, it is clear that there are no easy answers. Balancing the rights and safety of sex workers with the concerns of local communities and broader societal impacts remains a complex challenge. Policymakers will need to carefully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of legalising brothels in the UK, taking into account the experiences of other countries that have taken similar steps.
“Many, many men abuse them and then share the screenshots of abusing them with each other online to see who can do the most awful and depraved thing to them,” Laura said.
In fact, the 2024 list of the most downloaded chatbot AI apps on the Google Android Play Store showed that the top 11 apps have a combined 100 million downloads.
“This is huge. This is a bigger problem. And again, it’s something that no one is talking about,” Laura concluded.
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