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Sex dolls of the future will have artificial intelligence built in - so the dolls can simulate love.

The futuristic advance has been shared by the boss of one of the world's most successful sex doll manufacturers.

Matt McMullen, CEO of RealDoll, revealed the next step in making the high-end sex toys will be to give them AI to replicate humans more closely than ever.

"We are building an AI system which can either be connected to a robotic doll OR experienced in a VR environment," he revealed as part of an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit .

"I think it will allow for an option that never existed before, and for some, may represent a happiness they [users] never though they could have.

He added: "I think the sex industry is headed for the integration of a LOT of new technology.

"AI and VR, to name a couple. Teledildonics as well."

Teledildonics is technology for remote sex where tactile sensations are communicated over a data link between the participants - with Siri, Alexa, Cortana and other AI software.

"We are designing the AI to be fun and engaging, more than focusing on whether it can fool you into thinking it's a person," he said.

He later added, when someone asked if dolls will ever love us back: "I hope that we can at least simulate that," McMullen responded. "That's the goal."

Since 1997, Mr McMullen says he has been "making the world's finest love doll".

"Now, almost 20 years later, I'm helping to steer sex into the future with www.realdoll.com ," he revealed.

Mr McMullen also said that he views the main competition for his product as "the human female".

He was asked what he would most like to incorporate into RealDolls, answering: "Full body robotics like walking," although it's not as yet possible to do so.

Each doll, he explained, takes about 80 man hours to produce, and the company is currently shipping 300 to 400 per year.

He says that the oddest request from a customer for the tailor-made dolls has been "a doll with four breasts."

The company has been working on a doll with a robotic head to be released by the end of 2017, marking the company's 20th anniversary, he added.

Unsettling film shows how sex dolls are made:

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RealDoll toys have poseable PVC skeletons and silicone flesh to best emulate real skin.

Constructed by artists and other craftsman, each doll can be custom-made and costs around £4,770 to start, with customised models at £8,620 plus, making them among the world's most expensive sex dolls.