The sex bots are coming, and right now they are far more science fact than fiction. You won’t see the level of detail we saw when Jude Law played Gigolo Joe in AI anytime soon, but a leading futurologist, Dr Ian Pearson, claims it could be a reality by 2050. In the meantime, Matt McMullen, creator of RealDolls, is hoping to add an IA to his life like sex toys, and elsewhere The Campaign Against Sex Robots has also been launched. It’s a divisive subject, but in our continuing hunt for new ways to explore our sexuality, would robot hanky-panky really be that weird?
What kind of people might use sex bots?
Plenty of people are already using sex toys and although a life size talking robot is a world away from a Rampant Rabbit, is the concept really that different? Matt McMullen is planning to sell his talking RealDolls sex bots for around $57 000, but many people could be squeamish about a sex toy that answers back because the concept is still so alien to us. In the 1970’s, porn magazines and videos were sold from top shelves or under the counter. But since it’s entered into the mainstream, many more people are cool with watching porn on their phone, laptop or tablet. In his report, The Future of Sex, Dr Pearson thinks the tipping point will come as AI start to interact with humans on a regular, non-sexual basis. Once we’ve got over how they look and begun to develop a sense of fondness towards them – the sex bots will surely follow. He says: "While some people will enthusiastically embrace relationship-free robot sex as soon as they can afford one, as early as 2025, it won’t have much chance of overtaking sex with humans overall until 2050." So we have 34 good years left in us people...make the most of it.
Sex Bots: Could you really fall for an AI?
Falling for an AI that can never love you back, no more than a chair could, might seem tragic. But is it really any different from the relationship we have with other inanimate objects? How much do you love your comfy bed in the morning? Your smartphone...couldn’t be without that right? And then there’s Siri – how often have you tried saying inappropriate things to your virtual assistant? It might not be love but there’s an attachment there - we’re already far from indifferent to the non-sentient things around us. If you own, or have ever owned a cat, you’ll get the idea. Cats depend on their owners for food, but other than that they’re happy to exist independently, ignoring, rejecting and hissing at us – but we still feel a huge amount of affection for them.
So could sex bots ever take the place of real people?
In his 2007 book, Love and Sex with Robots, David Levy looked at the future implications for human/robot relationships, pulling in ideas from around the world. In Levy’s view, robot sex toys would solve the problem of loneliness and a lack of intimacy. He predicted: “a huge demand from people who have a void in their lives because they have no one to love, and no one who loves them. The world will be a much happier place because all those people who are now miserable will suddenly have someone. I think that will be a terrific service to mankind.” So like our jobs, is it possible that robots will also taking over the role of screwing our partners? Well, probably not. Many commentators believe that rather than stealing our lovers or replacing them in our affections, sex bots will be casually played around with – just like the way we browse porn.
What problems could sex bots cause?
As a reaction to the sex bot revolution, Erik Billing of the University of Skövde in Sweden, and Kathleen Richardson of De Montfort University in the U.K., have joined forces to launch the Campaign Against Sex Robots. While they’re not hoping to ban sex robots altogether, they’re concerned about the potential for abuse and inequality. This stems from the fact that almost all sex dolls sold are female and bought by straight men. They say it reflects the idea that women are often sexually objectified and could eventually impact on how real life women are treated.
But what about the robots? It’s worth remembering that AI already has the ability to grow and adapt organically. At some point in the future, sex bots and robot sex toys might not want to sleep with their inferior human creators - leaving us to do the job ourselves again. Fun, eh?
© ronymichaud / Pixabay and DrSJS / Pixabay
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.