Sex workers say robots cannot replace human intimacy, Ben-Gurion University study finds

BEER-SHEVA, Israel, October 15, 2025 – Sex robots may be gaining attention in the fast-growing sex-tech industry, but a new Ben-Gurion University of the Negev study shows that human intimacy, communication, and authenticity remain irreplaceable. Drawing on interviews with Israeli sex workers, the research highlights the social and emotional dimensions of sexual labor that machines cannot replicate.

The study, “Sex is Not Just Fucking; Sex is a Feeling: Sex Workers’ Insights on the Sociality of Sex and Authenticity in the Age of Robots,” was published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-025-01146-z).

Researchers Dr. Yeela Lahav-Raz (Department of Sociology & Anthropology, BGU), Prof. Shelly Levy-Tzedek (Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, BGU, and Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies), together with Ayellet Ben Ner (Argaman – The Israeli Sex Workers Alliance) and Guy Tzarfati (BGU), interviewed 16 Israeli sex workers from across the industry. The 16 spanned a wide range of ages, gender identities, and religions, and therefore, while based in Israel, the findings carry wider implications for global debates on the ethics and regulation of sexual technologies.

Their findings challenge prevailing narratives in what scholars have termed the “robotic sex wars.” While participants expressed concern about potential replacement, they consistently highlighted two qualities of human sexual labor that robots cannot replicate:

• The sociality of sex: sex is not only a physical act but also a way of connecting, communicating, and sharing experiences.
• Authenticity: humans bring emotions, humor, small imperfections, and their own unique personality, which robots cannot truly imitate.

“In my lab, we develop robots to support rehabilitation, where they can assist patients but never replace the human therapists,” said Prof. Shelly Levy-Tzedek of the Recanati School for Community Health Professions at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. “This study shows a parallel truth in intimacy: technology may simulate certain functions, but it cannot substitute for human connection and emotional presence.”

Rather than rejecting technological change outright, sex workers used the imagined figure of the robot as a mirror to reassert the value of their own expertise and sexual and emotional work. As one participant put it: “Sex isn’t just… fucking. Sex is a feeling. At the end of the day, [the robot] is just a doll. It’s not a person, it’s not skin, it’s not a soul.”

“Our findings show that sex workers are not only affected by these technologies but also experts in intimacy, labor, and ethics. Excluding their voices risks misguided regulation and deepening stigma,” said Dr. Yeela Lahav-Raz, of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

The researchers stress that policymakers, designers, and technologists must include sex workers’ perspectives when developing regulatory and ethical frameworks for the sex-tech industry.

This research was supported by an inter-faculty research grant and the Data Science Research Center (DSRC) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Link to photo of Dr. Yeela Lahav-Raz. Photo credit: Dani Machlis, BGU: https://mediagraph.io/shares/75aafaae383bb76d-dr-yeela-lahav-raz
Link to photo of Prof. Shelly Levy-Tzedek. Photo credit: Dani Machlis, BGU: https://mediagraph.io/shares/fa5067a8c9d3e2ce-prof-shelly-levy-tzedek