LONDON – Move over blow-up dolls, the sex robots are here. Artificial intelligence is making its way into the global sex market, bringing with it a revolution in robotic "sex tech" designed to offer sexual gratification with a near-human touch. In a report on the growing market in sex robots, the Foundation for Responsible Robotics said rapidly advancing technologies have already led to the creation of "android love dolls" capable of performing 50 automated sexual positions. They can be customized down to the nipple shape and pubic hair color, and can cost between $5,000 and $15,000. The increasingly life-like robots raise complex issues that should be considered by policymakers and the public, the report said -- including whether use of such devices should be encouraged in sexual therapy clinics, for sex offenders or for people with disabilities.

A panel of robotics experts at the South by Southwest conference couldn't reach a consensus Tuesday on whether machines would soon take over the Earth. But they agreed that the advances in artificial intelligence are well-nigh unstoppable. In fact, they said, machines are already demonstrating the ability to learn and to solve problems that humans couldn't. The discussion was seasoned with more than a dash of whimsy, and like much of what goes on at South by Southwest, it was closer to a brainstorming session than an academic presentation. Nevertheless, the speakers offered enough anecdotal evidence to make their visions of the future compelling, if not necessarily prescient. Two of the three -- Daniel Wilson and William Hertling -- are authors of novels about apocalyptic conflicts between machines and humans, so their comments need to be taken with a grain of salt.