Intimacy Robotics Is Not a Replacement for People
Expanding access to touch, companionship and connection
Human relationships are irreplaceable. But access to touch, companionship and the feeling of being seen is not equal.
Disability, neurodivergence, PTSD, grief and isolation can create real gaps in a person’s intimate life. Intimacy robotics can offer another option: assistive tools designed to provide presence, privacy and agency—not replace human connection.
This technology is not for everyone, and it must be built responsibly. Consent, boundaries, meaningful friction and diverse perspectives should be part of the system from the beginning.
In this conversation with Natalie Brunell, Intima President Sue Ennis discusses AI companionship, loneliness, embodiment and why the category deserves to be built with care.
Watch the Conversation
Sue Ennis left the Bitcoin space to run a company that builds AI companion robots, and she says it reminds her of crypto in 2016 - a brand new technology growing fast with no real rules yet. Fascinating convo. Would you ever consider having a companion robot? TIMECODES: 00:00 Trailer 1:00 What these robots actually are 3:46 Robots in healthcare and classrooms 6:02 Who's really buying them 10:00 Building with ethics 10:44 Can this replace human connection? 12:08 The woman married to an AI 17:12 What they actually look and feel like 19:05 The celebrity requests she gets 20:32 Is your data private? 22:23 Why we spend less time together 25:48 Keeping the AI from going somewhere bad 32:21 From Bitcoin mining to this 37:02 Is she a customer herself? 43:13 The robot they made too rude 47:54 Not the dolls you grew up with 50:38 Where this goes in 10 years
— Natalie Brunell ⚡️ (@natbrunell) October 20, 2026
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