AI Sexbots Are On The Rise. Should We Regulate Them?
In an almost prophetic way, Spike Jonze’s 2013 film “Her” introduced audiences to a world where artificial intelligence blurs the lines between technology and human intimacy. Now, as AI sexbots are becoming a more prevalent part of our real-world lives, researchers are concerned over how they will impact the future and the ethics of human sexuality.
The protagonist in “Her,” Theodore, develops an emotional bond with an AI operating system. The human and the machine begin to explore themes of love and loneliness, and more importantly, can human connection bridge the gap into the technological? This cinematic exploration of AI-human relationships has become quite relevant as the AI sexbot industry begins to take shape.
In a recent article published in The Conversation by the University of Sydney’s Raffaele Ciriello, the burgeoning AI sexbot industry is poised to revolutionize human intimacy; and there are some serious risks associated with this new kind of ‘love.’
Virtual companions and physical robots that mimic human interactions are already out there. Companies like Replika have already capitalized on this trend by providing users with customizable digital partners. Claiming to have 30 million users, Replika allows individuals to create AI companions tailored to their preferences, engaging in intimate conversations and role-playing scenarios.
This rise in “digisexuality” reflects a growing demand for AI-driven relationships, and Ciriello is worried about the future of human romance and connection.
“The availability of AI-driven relationships is likely to usher in all manner of ethically dubious behaviour from users who won’t have to face the real-world consequences,” he writes.
One significant issue is the ability of users to manipulate their AI partners without facing real-world consequences. Don’t like your digital partner’s opinion on a sensitive issue or topic? No need to engage in a difficult albeit developmentally healthy conversation. Just switch it off.
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From Wikipedia:
Sex robots or sexbots are anthropomorphic robotic sex dolls that have a humanoid form, human-like movement or behavior, and some degree of artificial intelligence. As of 2018, although elaborately instrumented sex dolls have been created by a number of inventors, no fully animated sex robots yet exist. Simple devices have been created which can speak, make facial expressions, or respond to touch.
There is controversy as to whether developing them would be morally justifiable. In 2015, Robot ethicist Kathleen Richardson called for a ban on the creation of anthropomorphic sex robots with concerns about normalizing relationships with machines and reinforcing female dehumanization. Questions about their ethics, effects, and possible legal regulations have been discussed since then.
The Making of Sexbots (NSFW)
Matt McMullen is changing the world of sex toys with his hyperrealistic sex doll.
It too was a nightmare to install and turned out to be like an X-rated Tickle Me Elmo. Instead of “That tickles!” the doll said things like “Ow!” and “Oh, that feels good” or simply moaned. “We did that for a while and it was cool—some people loved it,” Matt recalls halfheartedly. Others didn’t think it was worth the $1,500. “But more people said, ‘Well, I don’t know if I want her to talk.’ I kind of like that it’s just a doll, and that’s kind of where sometimes I feel I am. You start adding aLL these other things, it’s not really just a doll anymore.”
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The thought of getting back into robotics nOW is exciting but also intimidating and anxiety-inducing: “I feel like 10 years ago when I was doing this, I was completely content. I made dolls and I made them as beautiful as I could and it was a very free feeling. …. I guess in a sense it makes you long for the simplicity of what used to be.”
It’s Alive!
At the end of The Stepford Wives, the evil, Dr. Frankenstein-like head of the Men’s Association—nicknamed “Diz” because he once worked in Disney’s animatronics department—responds to one of the last utterances of Katherine Ross’s doomed character, Joanna. “Why? Because we can,” Diz informs her. “We found a way of doing it that’s just perfect, perfect for us and perfect for you…. See, think of it the other way around: wouldn’t you like some perfect stud waiting on you around the house? Praising you? Servicing you? Whispering how your sagging flesh was beautiful, no matter how you looked?” Then the sexbot, an exact replica of Joanna except for its black, doll-like eyes and gravity-defying breasts, tightens a stocking and strangles her with it.
Matt calls it a very entertaining movie and concept. And creepy? “Yeah, that’s creepy. But our goal would never be to do that, and whatever amount of technology I incorporate into our dolls as we go forward into the future will be geared at the simple goal of enhancing that interaction, not taking away from it. I would never see that being a threat to an organic woman at all.” Besides, females might have some options by the time fembots are commonplace:
“They’re probably going to make robotic manbots, and don’t fool yourself: women will be in line, too,” he says. Like the Jude Law character “Gigolo Joe,” in A.I.? “Oh, sure. If you make a robot that is Johnny Depp-ish enough or whatever character at the time—of course they’ll be open to it!
“Across-the-board, human sexuality is expanding into these other avenues and frontiers,” he says. “We like to experience different types and flavors of sex, and that is our nature. And so I don’t think necessarily this is something that needs to be a high level of concern.
There’s this big gap between what people fantasize about and what’s possible even in the next decade. You know we’re not quite there. When we’re able to build a starship Enterprise, we’ll have these kinds of robots that people fantasize about, but there’s going to be a lot of steps between here and there.”
Is animating dolls or giving them emotional intelligence the greatest desire?
“Well, the idea, the goal, the fantasy there, is to bring her to life, ultimately,” he replies. But he admits that, given the choice between a beautiful woman and an animated doll, there are some who would still choose the latter. “They have a fetish for the doll. It has nothing to do with dehumanizing anyone. They have a fetish for this doll to be animated, and it has nothing to do with possessing them or controlling them. I mean, there are people out there who have sex with their car. There are people who have sexual fetishes about items of clothing or pieces of furniture—that’s out there and doesn’t dehumanize anyone. That’s just their thing, man. So again: relax.”
So women shouldn’t be worried about being replaced by synthetic versions of themselves?
“No. Nor should men be worried that they’ll be replaced by dildos.”
Don’t Feel Sorry for David Mills
Inside a booth at Red Lobster in downtown Huntington, David Mills is looking around for a waitress who used to be a stripper. One thing he will say for the Huntington area is there are some pretty good strip joints. People come from Charleston and all over. Every couple of months Mills goes to either Lady Godiva’s or Southern X-Posure, where the strippers are fully nude onstage and give wonderful private lap dances.
“The only problem I have is there are a lot of fat strippers and they have tattoos,” he says. “I mean, that just doesn’t do it for me, though usually in an evening they’ll have one or two that look really good and kind of classy-looking.”
He says he isn’t drinking tonight. Gets too carried away. Usually he will buy one 22-ounce bottle. “And that’s all I have. But if I have like a 12-pack, I drink until I throw up, so I rarely drink.”
Was he being serious about his offer to wash Taffy so I could test her out? “Yeah—I mean, that’s fine with me,” he replies. “That’s perfectly fine. There is absolutely no possibility of catching anything at all. You can do it NOW or later when you come back. I was not kidding.”
The only downside to Taffy is her weight, but “you can’t demand a life-size doll that looks and feels exactly like a woman and expect the doll to weigh 10 pounds and throw it over your shoulder.” Another issue is that dolls assume the ambient temperature. He is very interested to learn that McMullen is finalizing a design for a remote-control internal heating system so his customers won’t have to use an electric blanket.