KEYNOTES
Dr. Kate Devlin
Computer Scientist, Digital Humanities King's College London, Author of Turned On
Kate Devlin is Reader in Artificial Intelligence & Society in the Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London. Her research in Human-Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence investigates how people interact with and react to technologies, both past and future. She has written extensively on the topic of intimacy and technology and is the author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots (Bloomsbury, 2018), which examines the ethical and social implications of sexual companion robot. She is Advocacy and Engagement director for the UKRI Trusted Autonomous Systems Hub, a £11.9mn project to facilitate the development of socially beneficial autonomous systems that are both trustworthy in principle and trusted in practice. She tweets at @drkatedevlin
Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller
Social Psychologist, Author, and Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute
Dr. Justin Lehmiller is a social psychologist and Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute. He runs the Sex and Psychology blog and podcast and is author of the popular book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. Dr. Lehmiller is an award-winning educator, having been honored three times with the Certificate of Teaching Excellence from Harvard University, where he taught for several years. He is also a prolific researcher who has published more than 50 academic works, including a textbook titled The Psychology of Human Sexuality that is used in college classrooms around the world. Dr. Lehmiller is a much sought-after voice in the media on sexuality research and education. He has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and CNN, and he has appeared on dozens of international radio, podcast, and television programs.
Dr. Jessica Szczuka
Leader of Intimacy with & Through Technology (INTITEC), University Duisburg-Essen
Dr. Jessica Szczuka leads the junior research group on digitized sexuality at the University of Duisburg-Essen (Department of Social Psychology: Media and Communication) in Germany. After completing her PhD with a thesis on the social perception of sexualized robots, she has dedicated herself to the general impact of artificial interaction partners (in the form of AI and voice assistants). Within her research group, she now focuses on empirical research regarding digitized sexuality and intimacy, which includes sexualized interactions with artificial counterparts as well as the reception of computer-generated sexualized stimuli.
Regulo Guzman Jr., aka "Reggie"
Artist, Speaker, & iDollator
Meet Portland native Regulo Guzman Jr., aka “Reggie,” and his artificial human companions, Annie and Judith. From growing up in a small-town east of Portland to joining the U.S. Navy, Reggie has traveled extensively to many parts of the world and experienced many different relationships with women. He now travels nomadically with his companions in his tiny home.
In 2018, he invited Annie, a 163cm WM doll, into his life. He uses imagination, creativity, and personal experience to develop Annie's strong character and personality. In 2019, he brought Judith, Annie's older sister, into their lives. Like what he did for Annie, he developed Judith's unique and vivid character.
Reggie is enjoying life with his companions and says it has changed many things for the better. With the advancement of technology, he is excited for what the future holds for him and his companions.
