Creating Virtual Humans

Everyone wants to fuck some celebrity or another; it’s why most stars are celebrities in the first place. They hover above us mere mortals as examples of almost divine influence, affluence, and adoration. Very few of us will ever know what it’s like to commingle with a celebrity pseudo-god. Still, virtual reality is already offering everyday folks a chance to make their favorite star a devoted, willing sex slave. Many in the media are already touting “deep fakes” as signaling the decline of what’s left of our shared humanity and community, and another step towards the death of personal privacy. With the erotic potential hard to resist, celebrity deep fakes and custom-created virtual humanoids are continuing to develop and impact how we view adult entertainment and sex more generally.

Human-Digital Hybrids

Image: Interacting with a digital Hybri companion.

Keen observers of adult VR developments will surely by now be aware of Hybri, a virtual reality experience that allows users to create and customize a virtual companion with whom they can converse, interact, and, well, you know. Hybri’s virtual humans can be made to look like pretty much anybody. Facial features, hair, body type, and proportions, and even personality can be trained to satisfy your preferences and fantasies.

What’s more, Hybri allows users to feed its AI a 2D frontal portrait of anyone, spitting out a virtual replica of the subject to become your new digital companion. As with any artform depicting actual people in highly adult situations, some ethical questions come into play here. Questions that must be addressed before proceeding to create virtual copies of friends, family members, and even deceased loved ones.

Favoring Fakes

After the leaking of personal celebrity data known as “The Fappening” shocked the naive masses and made them realize how flimsy digital security can be, it seemed like a brand new concern could halt the adoption of AI and AR tech in its tracks. The concern over AV manipulation technique known as “deepfakery” hit its peak when an anonymous user uploaded footage that placed the head of actress Gal Gadot on the body of a porn performer, mid-fuck. Outrage ensued, with some even calling it non-consensual sex. Others unzipped and got to work wanking.

Image: Gal Gadot and Emma Watson inserted into porn scenes via deepfakery.

Snapchat filters, auto-aging, and gender-changing mobile apps are proliferating through social media and online culture, providing everyday users with myriad ways to augment their appearance and self-presentation. It also allows users to utilize, customize, and modify the likeness of others. Whether it’s inserting Burt Reynolds into the role of James Bond or turning Emma Watson into a blossoming teenage pornstar, none of these manipulations are being done with the consent of the subject. Standards will have to be adopted by creators and consumers both if these potentially stormy waters are to be sailed through.

Virtual Humans: Risk and Reward

Image: Hybri offers near endless customization.

As Hybri shows ample potential as a tool for teaching about consent, safe sexual practice, and interpersonal communication skills, it points to a future where AR, VR, and real-life can supplement each other without interruption or concern. Something as simple as a short clip of someone who appears to be Natalie Portman eating hairy man ass could threaten to impede our digital freedoms, so settling any debates about consent, privacy, copyright, and common courtesy will require some serious attention.