(This article was originally published in July 2000)

Immediately following the great Y2K battle, there has been a spate of warnings concerning the dangers of 21st century technology to humanity. Bill Joy warned us about robotics, genetic engineering and nanotechnology. President Clinton issued a warning about the increased capabilities of terrorists, and requested 300 million dollars to begin working on the problem. Britain's Prince Charles warned us of the danger of genetically modified crops.

I wish to issue a warning concerning the real route our machines will take to manage their complete merger with mankind. I think it is likely to be a merger rather than an annihilation. Unlike Bill Joy, I believe our machines will continue to need us—and we them. In fact, as Frank J. Tippler states in his book The Physics of Immortality, "The fundamental reason for allowing the creation of intelligent machines is that, without their help, the human race is doomed. With their help we can and will survive forever."

Dr. Tippler predicts that someday our computers will emulate the sidereal universe and resurrect every human being who ever lived. He also believes that each emulation will be given its perfect sexual mate. So there is still hope for computer nerds everywhere!

Which brings us to sex. It is the subject most written about, talked about, and thought about. It has always been the vehicle of propagation, evolution, and the merger of different species. It is significant that pornography provided the financing of the Internet—and is still its best seller. It is maybe less obvious that sex provides the opening for technology to insert its ugly head into the evolutionary process.

In the last decade of the 20th century, the erotic video business had reached a staggering 8 billion dollars yearly sales in the US alone. Statistics show that close to 50% of these dollars were spent by middle class women in their middle years. Erotic aides are becoming more advanced and are being sold not only via the Internet and the mail, but also in stores in respectable business areas. We can look forward to complex, computerized, nanotechnology-enhanced products; perhaps to use during phone or Cyber sex.

Sexual enhancement of the breast and the penis are already thriving industries. So are sex-change operations, hormone injections, and aphrodisiac drugs. It seems likely that nanotechnology and genetic engineering will greatly improve these procedures and products. The future seems to contain the promise that we can be as sexy as we want to be, and will be able to choose the gender.

Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker reports on the therapy recently provided to one person: "When this 54-year-old woman sought treatment at the Woman's Sexual Health Clinic in Boston, doctors prescribed the following: a pair of 3-D glasses (I'm not kidding), a vibrator and an erotic videotape. Other instruments that deserve to remain mysteries were used to measure the woman's sexual response to these stimuli." (The Denver Post 5/25/00)

As Parker points out, 41 million over-50 orgasm-deprived women (in the US alone) creates quite a demand. Newsweek has predicted that the market for women's sexual therapy will near 2 billion dollars by 2008.

Then there is Viagra and its competitors. How is sexual potency in centenarians going to affect the gene pool? With our pursuit of life-extending technology, this could become a very important factor. How will technology affect the libido? Where will Viagra Man find a suitable partner? I recently received a catalog (why do they keep sending me these things?) promoting a love doll with realistic vagina, mouth and anus that could talk dirty to me utilizing a 100-word vocabulary. The manufacturer also offered dildos and vibrators, which groaned in ecstasy and whispered sweet endearments.

Already, success is being achieved in mind machine digital interface. Paraplegics are utilizing electrochemical brain impulses to operate computers and even fly airplanes. It seems certain this will lead to the next media revolution—the long prophesied "feelies" of science fiction (I prefer to call them psidees). When not occupied with their love dolls, people will be able to partake of life-like erotic experience; provided, of course by the superstars.

I recently explored these concepts, along with Dr. Tippler's proposed emulation of the universe, and the resurrection of all humans who ever lived, in a science fiction novel, The God Chip Conspiracy (available at online book stores). I propose that female love dolls (gynoids) may become the first conscious machines. Equipped with quantum processors, nanobatteries that draw their power from the motion of atoms, and life-like skin provided by undifferentiated cellular matter, they will be programmed for the impossible task of pleasing their partners!

The God Chip is the general orgasm drive chip, part of the PPCS (pain and pleasure control system) that commands conscious machines to act in an ethical manner. This system is, of course, derived from nature, and is used by the trillions of individual cells in our bodies to control us (I refer you to Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene). Of course, I am a positivist, and am constantly reminded by skeptical friends that the system didn't work on humans. I have been informed that The God Chip Conspiracy is a comedy. I submit that they are wrong on both accounts.

Copyright © 2000 TOMCOR Publishing: Thomas J. Sanders All Rights Reserved

Thomas J. Sanders, tomsand369@aol.com, is the Author of The God Chip Conspiracy, Trafford Publishing, May 2000, and God's Fire, to be released soon.