Smart bots: China's sex doll makers jump on AI drive

Smart bots: China's sex doll makers jump on AI drive

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Amid Beijing's push to turn the country into an artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse and embed the technology in all facets of life, some Chinese entrepreneurs are taking the expertise to a new frontier: sex dolls.

WMDOLL, one of China's biggest sex doll makers, which is based in the southeastern province of Guangdong, launched what it calls AI-powered dolls at end of 2016 that offer features ranging from simple conversation to moving eyes, arms and torsos. Customers can personalise their dolls by choosing various appearance options including height, hairstyle and eye colour.

. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
A sex doll hangs in the warehouse.

AI features on the dolls are still very basic: they can answer questions but cannot hold longer conversations. The doll uses vocabulary by connecting to a database supported by Chinese tech giant Baidu.

The firm admits improving the features has been difficult partly because experts aren't interested in putting much effort into developing AI technology for adult products.

. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
A worker prepares a sex doll for a photo shoot.

"Of course we're not expecting to make our AI dolls that human-like, after all we're just making adult products," said Liu Ding, WMDOLL product manager. "But we will surely add more advanced technologies... for example making the limbs move more naturally."

. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
Workers hang a sex doll in the warehouse.

WMDOLL says it has sold more than 20 of the AI dolls, which are priced between 10,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan ($1,470 to $7,350), compared with their annual sales of 20,000 dolls.

The company hopes the AI dolls will eventually take off with overseas customers, including those in the United States - exports account for 80 percent of their sales, and half of their overseas shipments go to the United States.

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Slideshow

Parts of sex dolls are seen on operating platforms waiting to be checked.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Parts of sex dolls are seen on operating platforms waiting to be checked.

Employees work at the factory.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Employees work at the factory.

A worker holds a doll's head to cool it down in front of a fan.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A worker holds a doll's head to cool it down in front of a fan.

Workers assemble sex dolls.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Workers assemble sex dolls.

Metal skeletons for sex dolls are displayed.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Metal skeletons for sex dolls are displayed.

Various doll heads covered with dust bags are seen on shelves.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Various doll heads covered with dust bags are seen on shelves.

A male sex doll hangs in the warehouse.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A male sex doll hangs in the warehouse.

Sex doll's heads are seen in boxes about to be sealed and shipped off to customers.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Sex doll's heads are seen in boxes about to be sealed and shipped off to customers.

A worker takes a photo of a sex doll.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A worker takes a photo of a sex doll.

A worker assembles a sex doll.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A worker assembles a sex doll.

Workers check the circuits of a sex doll called Lucy.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Workers check the circuits of a sex doll called Lucy.

A worker attaches a nail to a sex doll's finger.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A worker attaches a nail to a sex doll's finger.

Sex dolls' heads are seen at the factory.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Sex dolls' heads are seen at the factory.

Three sex dolls, all called Lucy, have their moving parts controlled by remote control.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Three sex dolls, all called Lucy, have their moving parts controlled by remote control.

Different models for making dolls are seen in a workshop.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Different models for making dolls are seen in a workshop.

Sex dolls with different shapes and skin colours hang in a warehouse.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Sex dolls with different shapes and skin colours hang in a warehouse.

A worker stands in an elevator with sex dolls.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A worker stands in an elevator with sex dolls.

Sex dolls hang from racks in the warehouse.
. Zhongshan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Sex dolls hang from racks in the warehouse.