Realdoll, a majority owned subsidiary of Intima.ai, today announced the formation of the Realdoll Responsible Intimacy Advisory Council and published its Principles for Responsible Innovation in Relational & Intimacy AI, establishing a framework for how the company believes AI designed for intimate and relational settings should be developed.

As artificial intelligence increasingly participates in areas such as companionship, affection, sexuality, attachment and human social learning, Realdoll believes relational AI requires a distinct safety discipline. While much of the broader AI safety conversation has focused on model, agent and physical AI safety, the company believes greater attention must be paid to how relational technologies are designed and influence human behavior, communication and expectations.

“Technology involved in intimacy should not simply simulate intimacy—it should model the behaviors that make intimacy healthy: communication, boundaries, respect and consent,” said Sue Ennis, president of Intima.ai, the parent company of Realdoll. “As builders in this category, we have a responsibility to consider what behaviors our technology reinforces and how it can support human wellbeing.”

The newly published principles focus on five areas:

  • Consent: Building experiences that help users practice asking, listening, responding and respecting another person’s choices.
  • Boundaries & Communication: Encouraging clear communication, mutual understanding and respect for personal boundaries.
  • Anti-Coercion: Designing against the idea that interaction with an AI creates entitlement to another person’s attention, affection or intimacy.
  • Healthy Human Relationships: Developing technology intended to support and bridge gaps in human connection rather than replace healthy human relationships.
  • Inclusion: Designing for the diversity of human experience, including people with disabilities, PTSD, neurodivergent individuals and communities historically underserved in conversations around intimacy and desire.

To help evolve these principles beyond the perspective of a single company, Realdoll is establishing the Responsible Intimacy Advisory Council, envisioned as a multidisciplinary group of researchers, clinicians, scientists and leaders in relational AI. The Council will help inform evidence-based principles, frameworks and guardrails for responsible innovation, grounded in research, data and science.

“Our goal is not to claim that we have all the answers,” Ennis added. “We want to help start a broader conversation about what responsible innovation should look like when AI enters some of the most personal areas of human life. Researchers, clinicians, technologists, and customers should all have a voice in shaping that future.”

Realdoll’s objective is to support an environment in which intimacy and relational AI can develop safely and responsibly while preserving access for people who benefit from the technology. Thoughtful standards, rigorous research, and diverse perspectives can help protect users while enabling continued innovation.

Members of the Realdoll Responsible Intimacy Advisory Council, its initial research priorities and formal operating framework will be announced as the initiative develops.

About Intima.ai

Intima.ai is an embodied AI and intimacy technology company. As the parent company of Realdoll, Intima draws on nearly three decades of experience in personalization, advanced materials, manufacturing, and human-centered product design. The company develops technology that connects artificial intelligence with physical products and experiences, including persistent identity, memory, conversational systems, sensing, robotics, and physical embodiment.

Intima believes intimacy technology should be developed with rigor, responsibility, and respect for human agency. Across its portfolio, the company focuses on responsible relational AI through principles centered on consent, privacy, transparency, user control, inclusion, and technology designed to support—rather than replace—human connection.

Media gallery

About The Author
Business Wire