More than just a toy: manufacturers are striving to create ever more realistic sex robots. Can humans transfer all their fantasies to robots?
Sex with real people can soon be a thing of the past. By 2050, sex robots will replace humans in bed. At least that's what British researcher Ian Pearson thinks.
In his talk "The Future of Sex," the mathematician and physicist outlines a future in which brothels and strip clubs with robots are becoming an absolutely normal part of life. Machines made of metal, silicone and software will be able to fulfill any wishes of customers and spin around the pole tirelessly. The fact that Pearson published his report with the support of a British sex toy company may have contributed to the future of sex being described as a future in the hands of robots.
Someday they and the market for them will appear
The dream of the producers is a doll that looks like a person, which reciprocates to the partner and allows to do everything with itself. For many, sex with a robot is associated with something rude and repulsive, because such a partner at best behaves like a real one, but is not.
On the other hand, in more and more areas of our life, we communicate with technology, and not with people. On the iPhone - Siri, we can call a taxi using a chat bot. Will technology soon play a big role in our bedroom, as Pearson thinks?
“There is a wide variety of different sex dolls and robots,” says researcher Julie Carpenter, who has studied human-robot interaction for many years. "But the idea of a machine that will fulfill all desires is still far from reality." The American notes: “We need now to talk about the ethical and legal problems that sex robots pose. Because someday both they and the market for them will appear."
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How sex toys are supposed to get smart
The sex toy industry has long been working on not only superficial characteristics but also language. Dolls such as True Companion's Roxxxy are, according to the company's website, “always cool and ready to talk or play,” and depending on the settings, can be cocky or shy - at least in English. These dolls have not yet learned German.
The American company RealDoll relies on dolls with which their owners can have a conversation. New models should remember the information heard from the owner and be able to express pleasure through the language module. It is also planned to create special virtual reality glasses Oculus Rift.
Sex robots - the prostitutes of the future?
So far, sex dolls, which are more than just rubber dolls, are a niche product. On average, one such doll is produced per day, costing about 6 thousand euros. Therefore, the approximate consumer of such expensive dolls is brothels, where their use will quickly pay off.
In the future, robotic brothels will be able to offer customers safely, cheaply and without fear of indulging in their sexual fantasies. In addition, sexual contact with a robot is less likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease if hygiene is observed.
However, people come to a brothel for physical intimacy with a person? “It is often important for clients to be accepted with their own, sometimes unusual sexuality,” says Undine de Riviere of the federal intimate services business. Sometimes you need to hug someone, says Riviere.
Little more research
Sex robots cannot offer this. Researcher Carpenter is also skeptical about whether sex robots can solve the problem of trafficking in women for prostitution.
However, for treating victims of sexual assault, humanoid robots may prove useful, Carpenter said. “There are still too few research results that clearly prove these assumptions. But if we imagine a robot that looks like a human, then there will be potential for therapeutic use.”
Sex robot as a projection - a threat to people?
Many see the similarities between robots and humans as a problem. After all, what will happen to people if the differences between a real sexual partner and a doll are blurred?
Would it be good if, for example, aggressive people start pouring out their anger on sex dolls? Will this lead to a threat to people? Will pedophiles express their tendencies on child sex robots?
Stuttgart-based philosopher Catrin Misselhorn fears that the expression of such fantasies on robots could lead to such actions being translated into reality. Because for satisfaction it is important “to imagine that you have contact not only with a sex robot, but also with a real person whom you inflict violence on,” the philosopher notes.
However, sexual violence against robots does not necessarily correlate with actual violence. However, it is necessary to separate legal and ethical issues from each other. Not everything that people think is immoral should lead to legal punishment.
Researcher Carpenter is confident that robots will look like robots for a long time to come. "We will know that we are dealing with a robot, not a human, just because we bought him as a robot."