I/O
Sex and the Singularity
We talk about sex the way we talk about the future. That’s a problem.
In I/O, columnist Lux Alptraum explores how technology intersects with sexuality and relationships. I/O will embrace the uncertainty of our future and help us craft a better tomorrow, together.
In 2004, sex therapist Ian Kerner published his first book, She Comes First. A year later, futurist Ray Kurzweil released a work of his own, called The Singularity Is Near. At first glance, these two books — one a self-help tome educating men about the finer points of cunnilingus, the other a musing on artificial intelligence that predicts an eventual merger of man and machine — have very little in common.
Yet despite their wildly different subject matter, a common thread runs between them. Kerner and Kurzweil both used their bold, confident assertions about the way the world works to cement their positions as thought leaders, experts, and handsomely compensated speakers. And they both peddled overly simplistic narratives that scrubbed nuance and complexity from discussions within their respective fields, reshaping the larger conversation for the worse.
In Kerner’s case, the argument that heterosexual sex should always begin with a woman’s orgasm and that her orgasm should be generated…
