If you are a believer of the singularity, you adhere to the belief that we will eventually become integrated with machines, thus forming a superhuman or post-human. These beings, though first being dual-species (human and machine) may ultimately realize the advantages of immortality and infinite intelligence are only achievable in machine form. Thus, our biological bodies will be shed in favor of our fully-machine descendants.
Before I touch on that possibility, I want to discuss a more nearer prospect, which is the uploading of our consciousnesses onto computers. Once our consciousnesses (personalities) are uploaded onto computers, I see no reason why they would need to retain their sexuality. Of course we could program them to retain them, but I see no reason other than personal gratification. As has been the case in the past, what we think is important today may turn out to be useless once we come to a technological realization.
If our consciousnesses are preserved in digital form, and they have the ability to function in said form, what role would our concept of sexuality play in their "thinking?" Obviously, they are digital, so they have no biological sexual characteristics, unless pre-assigned by us. They would have no use of reproduction, as they are effectively immortal. Thus, survival of the fittest becomes survival by all and biological advantage becomes intellectual advantage in the digital world of our clones.
Within mind uploading, the paradox lies with whether to keep the uploaded consciousnesses restrained within our control or to allow them to function freely. If it is the former, as many people may choose, sexuality will be embedded into the consciousnesses; as we are, after all, sexual beings. However, if it is the latter, these advanced personal consciousnesses (APC's) will soon shed their sexuality as it is a trivial trait in the digital world. Where biology is irrelevant, so is sexuality.
These APC's will interact with each other and us as sexually neutral beings. It is difficult for us to imagine, but consider that we lived forever, we would have no concept of reproductive necessity nor would we have any traits that rendered us attractive for reproduction (i.e. gender differences). I believe this shedding of sexuality will be a shock to those who first interact with APC's, but it is not too different to accept.
I must acknowledge the fact that much of our history has been progression from desire to impress the opposite sex. I could cite specific examples of this, as there are many, but I will go further and say that every human achievement has been at its core a method for elevating sexual attractiveness for its originator. So, one may argue that a lack of sexuality will stunt progress. I retort by stating that the digital world is entirely separate from our physical world and thus new motives will arise to provide the fuel needed for the AI's to progress. These may come in the form of digital or hardware enhancements given by us as rewards. Alternatively, it is possible that the AI's will have no concept of reward-based labor and will continue to perform without compensation, or will function for some other motive in which we cannot provide.
The asexual digital consciousnesses will have the ability to analyze problems based on rational thought and logic, rather than gender-specific ideas propagated by society, and thus will come to more practical ideas and solutions to problems in which we are not equipped to solve. Without the baggage of worrying about intellectually trivial aspects of our lives (sexual attraction, living expenses, relationships), APC's can "think" without interruption or worry because, after all, they are not physically bound to our biologically limited form.
Eventually, as mind clones become more sophisticated and our technology more advance, we will be able to embed digital consciousness into robots. These robots have the potential to replace us as a species if we all succumb to the advantages of mechanical bodies. The advantages of mechanical bodies are great, granted uploading our consciousnesses is possible, as we will lose all our biological limitations and can transfer our consciousnesses to new bodies if our current ones start to fail. Along with these advantages comes the loss of sexuality, as mechanical beings have no use for sex. If this is the path we are headed to, Human sexuality has a grim future, whether good or bad.
The worst effect I can imagine for the loss of human sexuality is that we become a species without compassion or we rely on pure logic without emotion, which is an unprecedented thought process, and that could result in detrimental effects to ourselves and our planet.
On the opposing argument, the eradication of human sexuality may result in a significant drop in tension and desire to beat the competition, allowing a more harmonious society to develop and work together to solve problems which we currently cannot.
It may be decades, even centuries, before it happens, but eventually we will all become integrated with technology, in the form of computer assisted thinking or full-on mechanical embodiment. The only possibility I see for the current biological human surviving this post-singularity phase is if we colonize space and thus allow more diversity to exist, otherwise this small planet will become entirely post-human in a matter of centuries.
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