What is sex going to be like in the future? This female entrepreneur who is facilitating the sextech revolution tells us more
Australian-born Bryony Cole grew up in a family where sex was not a topic of discussion. An experience of many women, society made her think that she needed to be small, not too smart and definitely not too loud. After she began her career in tech, however, she came across an industry and topic that taught her what it means to be a woman. Over the last three years, she has interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs, therapists and scientists about technology’s impact on sexuality, and we couldn't miss the chance to capture some of that collective insight during Bryony's recent visit to Bangkok to give a talk at this year's Dragonfly summit, where she discussed the future of intimacy and how we fight against cyberbullying, revenge porn and online predators.
How hard has it been to play a role in technology as a female?
Bryony Cole (BC) At first, I felt this need to hide my feminity and sometimes minimise my power, but once I decided to be my own boss and realised that I needed to be comfortable in my own skin, everything changed. I own my power, and there’s nothing wrong with being a woman and wanting to be someone. We as girls need to learn that what we have is in demand and that it’s totally worth it
Your project, Future of Sex—how did it come about?
BC I started a podcast called the Future of Sex, where I interviewed psychologists, doctors, famous scientists, technologists, basically anyone who would have an insight into sexuality and technology. I then stumbled across all this information about people building sexual robots, chatbots, couples that don’t have time for sex but rather spend eight hours a day behind a screen that decreases their libido. What I’ve found is that technology is radically changing the way we date, fall in love and the way we experience intimacy.
