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Sex robots have been billed as the future of intimacy - but it turns out women just aren't that into them.

Although there are stories of Scarlett Johannsson lookalikes , and even shocking schoolgirl sex robots , it seems that gents are much more interested in the prospect of a tech tumble between the sheets than ladies.

Even though Jude Law starred as the most famous male sex robot, it seems his Gigolo Joe from AI - programmed to please a demanding female population - cannot sway hetero ladies.

To help understand what kinds of relationships people will have with these robots , researchers have surveyed their opinions.

Although it hinged on the feelings of just 103 people, it has given a guideline about the appropriateness and value of sex robots.

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Researchers Matthias Scheutz and Thomas Arnold asked people whether sex robots would be "appropriate" or "socially useful" in a variety of different scenarios.

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These included instead of cheating on a partner, instead of prostitutes, for sex education, for disabled people and for sex offenders.

Respondents for the study ' Are we ready for sex robots? ' were also quizzed on whether it was acceptable for people to have sex with robots to improve hormone levels of people with infrequent sex lives, to improve self-esteem and overall psychological health, for group sex - such as mixed human-robot group sex - and for pornographic movies.

Rough or sadistic sex was another instance for possible use, as well as helping to maintain a relationship, to demonstrate forms of sexual harassment for training and prevention, in isolated environments such as space or Arctic research, to practice abstinence or to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

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Overall, the results showed similar difference in the uses for which women and men found sex robots to be appropriate.

Women were found to be less inclined to consider the sex robot a socially useful tool, while men were more likely to agree with their use.

The two points on which men and women agreed were that children sex robots shouldn't be made and that sex robots are suitable to use for 'intercourse' instead of prostitutes.

Shelly Ronen , a PhD candidate at New York University who studies sex, intimacy, and technology, says the lack of interest in sex robots from women could be because they "hold a more emotional notion of meaningful sex, one that values connection with another person more highly than men do".

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"Men are not just free to engage in meaningless sex, they are also encouraged to do so in a way that is not the case for women; women are more likely to suffer reputation consequences for doing the same," she told Broadly .

Ronen also highlighted trust issues humans have with sex robots, including whether they will be better than us, making us "redundant and impotent".

"People that don't think vibrators are immoral do consider sex robots immoral. And women, who might be more likely to use a vibrator, are less likely to indicate interest in sex with a robot intended for sexual uses."