Stanford scientist believes the end of sex for reproduction is coming

It was Aldous Huxley, who imagined a world where sex became an act of pure recreation instead of reproduction in the sci-fi classic The Brave New World.

Now a Stanford professor is arguing that this far-fetched future might be closer than we thought.

Henry Greely, a professor of law and genetics at Stanford University, has written The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction in which he claims that within “twenty, maybe forty, years most people in developed countries will stop having sex for the purpose of reproduction”.

Ditching the old-fashioned method of copulation, Greely believes, couples would rely on scientific techniques to create new life.

“When a couple wants a baby, he’ll provide sperm and she’ll provide a punch of skin,” Greely told the Sunday Times.

The author even suggests that sex might become a niche or exclusive activity, or might even become stigmatised.

If that turns out to be true, then let’s hope that, like many things outmoded which become trendy again, sex might make a nostalgic return.