Penile health tech: AI and the holistic future of male sexual health
Current trends in sexual wellness and health have focused primarily on amplifying the voices of female users. However, in 2024, while women’s sexual health and vaginal sexual wellness are still a prevalent topic within fem tech and sex tech spaces, more recent AI developers have expanded their focus to include penis health and STIs.
From chatbots that focus on mental wellbeing, health, and even sexual pleasure, to AI-driven apps that can be connected to the latest male-focused sex toys – helping with erectile dysfunction. We are increasingly seeing the world of penile sexual wellness grow to catch up with the fantastic innovations that have come out in recent years that support vaginal sexual health.
In this article, we will examine how AI has entered the world of penile sexual wellness and who is leading the foray into this space. We will also discuss some drivers for this shift and the industry’s potential challenges.
Defining penile health tech
For clarity, this article uses ‘penile health tech’ and ‘male health tech’ to refer to technology supporting the physical and overall well-being of cis-men, AMAB (assigned male at birth) individuals, pre-op trans women, and post-op trans men. While many brands use the term “male health,” the technologies discussed here benefit anyone with a penis looking to enhance or maintain their sexual health and well-being.
While some of the brands mentioned here use the term ‘male’ health, the technologies could be beneficial for anyone who has a penis looking to enhance or maintain their sexual health and wellbeing.
AI for sexual health
One of the most significant applications of AI within sexual health is how it has brought the conversation about STIs and sexual wellness back to the forefront. With AI algorithms able to use machine learning for early detection, people can take control of their sexual health.
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When a study by BUPA in 2022 reported that over 50 percent of UK young people don’t get STI checks due to the stigma, and concerns about accessibility and privacy, it was revealed that there’s a severe lack of education regarding sexual health and the importance of STI checking.
This has caused a growing number of young people to develop STIs without getting checked, particularly since COVID-19; in the UK alone, this figure has increased by 19 percent.
Making sexual health accessible with AI
When it comes to sexual health and STI testing, you wouldn’t think that AI would be able to play a crucial role in the testing and diagnosis of STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea, or even herpes.
However, through the launch of HeHealth and Ubie Health, that is exactly what we are seeing. By analyzing patient data, utilizing machine learning techniques, and being backed by medical professionals, AI algorithms can accurately identify patterns and indicators of various STDs, aiding in early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
HeHealth is a male health startup that specializes in the early detection of STIs and penis health. When asked what prompted the creation of HeHealth, CEO Yudara Kularathne explained that “young generations like GenZ prefer digital-first solutions.”
By recognizing this growing trend in app-based solutions, mobile and AI-driven applications like HeHealth can help significantly increase accessibility to sexual health resources.
HeHealth aims to use AI to allow individuals to seek advice, self-diagnose, and understand their health situation in the privacy and comfort of their homes, tackling geographical limitations, time constraints, and the stigma often associated with sexual health clinics.
To use the app, users simply send a dick pic, and the AI will analyze the image against previously taught patterns and indicators and offer a diagnosis.
However, for those feeling shy, Ubie Health is an AI-based symptom checker that uses machine learning and is regularly reviewed by doctors to offer real-time diagnosis of potential symptoms, potential treatments, and advice on when to visit a doctor.
Although they use AI in different ways, they tackle the same problem: offering accessible, reliable healthcare in an age where health services are overrun or inaccessible and educating patients to stop the flow of misinformation, and to allow patients to better advocate for their sexual health when they do go to the doctors.
Helping foster an end-to-end healthcare ecosystem that empowers patients to seek help and treatment from their homes without the long wait times that in-person appointments can bring.
Limitations of AI in penile health tech
Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that these AI-driven technologies do not act as an alternative to medical help; these technologies can help early detection of STDs like Chlamydia due to the physical symptoms. However, they cannot detect HIV or others. Going to the doctor to get tested regularly should still be a part of your sexual health routine.
In addition, these technologies are still developing and working out any potential bugs or glitches; it is important to recognize that sending a dick pic to an app still poses a potential danger, which can lead to issues of privacy and data hacks, so always be careful when doing so.
The world of penile health and AI doesn’t stop there; however, in the next section, we will look at how companies have been using AI, alongside innovative technology, to monitor, educate and help with penis health.
Penile health technology
Sexual Health
As well as STI diagnosis, AI is also being sought to tackle erectile dysfunction and penile health overall. Existing examples already on the market include devices such as the FirmTech Tech Ring, a smart vibrating cock ring that tracks night time erections and bodily vitals, to MyHixel’s latest update, incorporating a vibrating penis masturbator with an AI-guided masturbatory course.
Where movement and speed sensors capture each of the steps in user masturbation sessions to provide data points like duration, intensity, and heart rate, and based on that data, the app suggests individualized cognitive behavioral therapy to help with the mental aspects of premature ejaculation, as well as nutrition and fitness recommendations for the person’s physical health.
Alongside looking to use AI to create treatments for erectile dysfunction, brands like Sequoia are looking to incorporate AI apps to create personalized sexual wellness solutions. The app allows users to track and enhance their sexual health – the app combines education, health check-ups, and access to doctors.
All while remaining anonymous, with 79 percent of users reporting positive changes in their overall sexual health. These apps are also showing the deeper connection between penile sexual wellness and mental health and education, offering educational content and virtual therapy of AI-powered chatbots, allowing patients to take control of their sexual and mental health without having to worry about being embarrassed.
Fertility testing
AI is also used for fertility treatment. Mojo AI allows patients to send semen samples to a lab for testing with an AI-powered microscope. The results are dispatched within 48 hours, and the samples are destroyed afterward to ensure privacy.
This allows for quick, accessible fertility testing without the wait time or costs of going through a fertility clinic.
Holistic wellbeing
All of these reveal that the focus of sexual wellness and AI is connected to the overall well-being and health of people with a penis. The CEO of Firmtech discussed the benefits of monitoring nighttime erections as beneficial because sexual health is not isolated. It reflects your overall health, such as an indicator of cardiovascular health.
Additionally, MyHixel CTO Bernardo Ronquillo told Motherboard in a previous interview, “AI-powered devices could analyze data on a person’s sexual health and provide tailored treatment plans, including the use of smart sex toys for therapy or stimulation.”
What we see with these AI-driven solutions is that male sexual health is one part of a holistic health and wellbeing ecosystem. We have medical professionals and brands that understand and promote that penis health, STIs, mental wellbeing, and even non-sexual wellness are all connected.
Personalized health
To offer personalized health solutions, we must recognize how each part connects to the other, and the data collected by these AI solutions can help medical professionals provide patient care.
By analyzing patient data, including medical history, genetic information, and lifestyle factors, AI algorithms can help healthcare providers develop tailored treatment plans and interventions. This improves treatment effectiveness and enhances patient satisfaction and engagement in their sexual health journey.
In addition, we are seeing AI Innovators, policymakers, and healthcare providers working together to make these viable solutions: Ubie Health is reviewed by healthcare providers, while HeHealth and Sequoia work with medical practitioners to offer the best treatment options.
Sequina works with talented sexual health and psychological practitioners to provide cutting-edge mental health care, while several research labs and universities back Mojo AI’s process.
The battle between real doctors and artificial intelligence
As you can see already, there’s a growing list of AI-driven apps, chatbots, and even sex toys, all focused on providing accessible, educational healthcare. But what is behind the rise of AI in penile sexual health care solutions?
- Digital Focus: Young people with a social media-focused lifestyle are all the more digital, so healthcare has needed to adjust its care delivery to match their needs. There’s a preference for texting instead of talking and screen time compared to face-to-face and instant results of waiting. AI fills this gap.
- Immediate Accessibility: Unlike scheduling appointments with GPs or therapists, which can involve long waiting times, AI provides instant access to health assessments. Depending on your country, healthcare systems are currently overrun. In the UK alone, sexual health clinics have lost funding. These solutions offer professional care and develop accessibility without the long wait periods for appointments that many are facing due to the shortages and cuts to the healthcare system in many countries.
- Privacy and Anonymity: They offer discreet opportunities for penis owners to take a hands-on approach to their health and treatment.
- Cost-Effectiveness: When discussing the benefits of HeHealth and AI, Yudara Kularathne explained that “visiting healthcare professionals or obtaining medication can be expensive, especially in regions with limited public healthcare. AI diagnostics can significantly reduce these costs, making essential health assessments more affordable and accessible to a broader population.”
- Reducing Misinformation: The internet is rife with misinformation, and Googling symptoms often leads to inaccurate diagnoses that can escalate anxiety and lead to unnecessary stress. Brands like Mojo AI, HeHealth, and Ubie Health are created with medical professionals’ input, allowing for the correct information to be shared with users.
- Consistency and Scalability: AI can handle unlimited queries simultaneously, offering consistent responses based on the latest medical knowledge.
- Judgment-Free: AI-powered chatbots can offer confidential and nonjudgmental support to individuals seeking information about sexual health, contraception, or relationship advice. These chatbots can provide accurate and evidence-based information, helping individuals make informed decisions and promote healthy sexual practices.
The potential drawbacks of AI in sexual health care
However, before we rely on AI and only AI to offer us medical advice, it is important to recognize the potential drawbacks of this approach.
- Security and Privacy: With apps like HeHealth, you are sending a personal image of your penis to get an STI diagnosis; the Firmtech ring, where the AI collects data on your penis health and even Mojo AI, where you are physically sending off semen to be tested. The opportunity for data breaches and your privacy to be violated is high.
- Bias and Fairness: Depending on the model used, the AI can learn misleading or biased information, leading to unfairness, misdiagnosis, and underdiagnosis in certain minority groups.
- Data Concerns: As AI has to keep learning, there are opportunities for misinformation and incomplete data to be given to users.
- Cybersecurity Risks: including ransomware, malware, data breaches, and privacy violations.
- Accountability: If there is an error, it can be unclear as to who is to be blamed
- Overreliance: Overusing AI can reduce critical thinking and the number of people using healthcare systems when they should.
- Consent: Issues can arise regarding the sharing of your data to be used in AI learning.
Meeting the sexual health needs of the next generation
The most significant advantage of AI is its ability to continuously improve over time and scale without limitations, unlike trained human resources like doctors and therapists. This allows companies to quickly and efficiently tackle potential challenges and offer new, innovative ways to combine AI and health.
It also shows a growing recognition of the health profession’s need to quickly meet the needs of the next generation, offering personalized, at-home solutions instead of relying on old-school in-person appointments.
Throughout this article, we have looked at some of the leading innovators tackling penile health with the assistance of AI; what they all have in common is that they are combining education with AI that is backed by medical professionals, allowing patients to educate themselves on their symptoms and advocate for themselves, and offer opportunities to try other treatments before medications. It also creates an accessible medical ecosystem for all, regardless of gender, location, age, language, and sexuality.
When asked how he sees the future of AI going for male health, Yudara Kularathne told us, “I see everyone having a personalized sexual health companion who can understand them better than any physical doctor and advise and guide them in their day-to-day activities. This can be combined with medication delivery and telemedicine to create a seamless care loop. This will improve the spread of disease and the stigma surrounding the topic.”
AI is here to stay, and innovations are becoming more intelligent and innovative. Although they can’t prescribe medication, they offer a chance to take a more hands-on approach to your sexual health before you even step into the doctor’s office, and that’s something that should make most people feel a little more comfortable.
