5 ms·

Will we ever want to have sex with robots?

31 points by obtino 13y ago

olalonde 13y ago
> While no machine, however well-engineered, can ever feel empathy - something which defines us humans - it might be able to simulate it well enough to allow us to play along and treat it as if it were a sentient being. The author seems awfully certain of that although this question isn't anywhere near settled yet. If anything, I feel that the prevailing opinion among philosophers and AI researchers is that robots might indeed one day feel empathy and become sentient.
- tyilo 13y ago
  I noticed this too and I agree with you.
lutusp 13y ago
That's not what I worry about. I worry that robots won't want to have sex with us.
- marshray 13y ago
  Or by an off-by-one error in the programming they will want to too much, and skynet will evolve into a co-ed army of insatiable nymphomaniac terminators.
  - dutchbrit 13y ago
    Too much?!???
  - lutusp 13y ago
    > Or by an off-by-one error in the programming they will want to too much, and skynet will evolve into a co-ed army of insatiable nymphomaniac terminators. Oh my God, I think someone in Hollywood heard you. :)
    - marshray 13y ago
      I reckon this could also be a key element in an awesome cyberwar thriller. [In cavernous command center. Yellow emergency lights spinning.] Dispassionate female announcer: "Online systems failing. Loss of firewall integrity in [three] minutes." General: Dammit! We're losing this cyber-battle. We have only one option left. Corporal! Prepare to initiate contingency plan...LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO! Let me know if they need a creative consultant. :-)
  - prawn 13y ago
    Too fast, without letting go. Friction burns, with actual flames. Who wouldn't be terrified of malfunctions!?
    - marshray 13y ago
      "Hello, tech support hotline, how may I help you today?" [pause] "That's perfectly normal ma'am, lots of people smoke after sex." [hangs up]
- bostik 13y ago
  Even something as outlandish as that has been already envisioned by the extremely offensive Sexy Losers comic. This is potentially NSFW, so proceed with caution: http://sexylosers.com/199.html http://sexylosers.com/199.html (WARNING: If you browse any of the other comics in the archive, you will soon encounter 100% NSFW material.)
- johnfuller 13y ago
  Right, stay away from the "Bubba 2000" model unless you want to use him as an enforcer, twisted prank or house guardian. ETA: What? You find it annoying when my dog humps your leg? Just wait until you meet my robot.
petera 13y ago
Depends on the robot.
taproot 13y ago
Title is worded as if we dont want to and currently dont already.
jacques_chester 13y ago
A rare exception to Betteridge's Law of Headlines.
- Swannie 13y ago
  Oddly the BBC has a lot of exceptions to this, based on the past few weeks of "question as headline".
- dylangs1030 13y ago
  The reason why it's an exception is similarly codifiable. Where normal question-headlines can be quickly fact checked for a definite boolean answer, it's really quite uncertain if we'll ever want to do anything in the future. The headline accepts the uncertainty and explicitly frames it in the title. If you tried to apply Betteridge's "Try answering 'No' to this headline" rule to a headline with a futuristic question, you can't automatically get a straightforward answer, because we really don't know.
  - jacques_chester 13y ago
    We can make pretty strong estimates by analogy, given what people are prepared to insert into or have inserted.
skore 13y ago
What I wonder is - If you're married and have sex with a robot, is that cheating? And does whether it is cheating or not depend on the degree to which the AI is "lifelike"?
- marshray 13y ago
  Or maybe just humanlike? It may be that the uncanny valley makes people prefer their bio bots to be just like humans - except without heads.
- dagw 13y ago
  The only rules in marriage are the ones you and your spouse agree to. Some couples consider it cheating as soon as you simply flirt with another person, while others are OK with their spouse having sex with other people. So whether it's cheating or not is purely a function on the couple involved.
- ohwp 13y ago
  Cheating does not depend on physical or lifelike. Cheating is when you say "I love you with all my heart" but in the mean time give your heart to other stuff.
  - ordinary 13y ago
    It gets more complicated when you consider that "I love you" carries the implicit "...and I won't ever have sex with anyone but you" subtext. That isn't to say I think masturbation (with or without tools) is cheating, but the lines become a little blurry when you're dealing with human-like robots.
stinos 13y ago
If they look like the ones in the (btw excellent) Swedish series 'Real Humans', then the anser is: without doubt :P edit: the sex thing plays quite a role in the series and it's layed out well - eg a modshop where you can get your robot modified to become more wild/slavish/... in bed, elderly women buying robots as 'company' etc. Recommended.
akandiah 13y ago
The whole concept reminds of the Futurama episode 'I dated a Robot' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dated_a_Robot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dated_a_Robot) It satirises this idea rather well.
DrinkWater 13y ago
If we ever reach that point, i will happily throw myself into a volcano.
- colmvp 13y ago
  Some people are really unattractive. They will spend the rest of their lives alone no matter how long they look online or offline. So what's the big deal if robots satisfy their needs?
- stinos 13y ago
  Given people are nowadays already having sex with plastic dolls, rubber vaginas and in extreme cases other dead people, any realist sees that sex with robots will happen. And it will probably during your life, so maybe you should withdraw the volcano statement.
  - marshray 13y ago
    Other dead people?! Dude, you've been watching too many zombie movies.
    - stinos 13y ago
      Well yes, I have, but I didn't get the idea there. Sorry to wake you up, but necrophilia is real. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrophilia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrophilia for starters)
      - nanofortnight 13y ago
        (dead people doing it with other dead people)
        stinos 13y ago
        oops, got me there..
arethuza 13y ago
If you've ever known a nurse who worked in an accident & emergency department then you've probably heard stories about how people already have sex with all manner of strange things.
- chrisdl 13y ago
  My thoughts exactly. Vacuum cleaner anyone?
colmvp 13y ago
Oculus Rift/Google Glasses + Robots = the next level of masturbation?
smokeybourbon 13y ago
> The main drawback of this type of robot is that they have a very short battery life - they only last for about 20 minutes. Who wants to have sex more than four times anyways?
- johnfuller 13y ago
  So what? After 20 minutes the robot just lays there and does nothing? If that's due to battery life, then some of the real life partners I have been with had a far shorter battery life than that.
devnetfx 13y ago
From the article - "we would be having sex with robots in five years - and be capable of falling in love with them within 40 years" Let's start the "Human-Robots Marriage Rights" petition now... might take some time for society to accept it!
johnfuller 13y ago
Why would you need AI in a sex robot? People don't go to strip clubs for the great conversation. Though I suppose the AI is the difference between a sex robot and a sex doll. And I suppose any intelligence is better than faked or clever AI. Otherwise you might as well be having sex with a human look-alike Teddy Ruxbin. The $9K price tag estimate isn't too bad. That's probably cheaper than than a lot of people spend on their significant others, not counting accessories so that you can feel like you are getting some "strange" every once in a while. Maybe this could be Apple's next big thing. I don't mind Windows, but the idea of having sex with something which has a Microsoft logo makes me not want to have sex.
- coldtea 13y ago
  >Why would you need AI in a sex robot? People don't go to strip clubs for the great conversation. You'd be surprised.
Quiark 13y ago
Given that people are already willing to have 'sex' with all kinds of sex toys ... The interesting point will be when humanlike emotions start to appear in the robots.
cousin_it 13y ago
When robots become as attractive as people, there will be no reason for progress to stop at that exact point, so they will quickly become much more attractive. At that point, people who used to be "unattractive" will celebrate because they can finally get a good mate, while people who used to be "attractive" will develop serious self esteem issues. The attractive people will try to take collective action to keep their share of the market, like branding everyone who has sex with robots a "loser" or worse.
bdz 13y ago
Reminds me to this THX 1138 scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-Sa0MlFkg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-Sa0MlFkg
awjr 13y ago
Gotta say men have and will for ever more stick their dicks into pretty much anything. I wouldn't be surprised if 'sexbots' actually advance realistic robots quicker as suddenly there is profit to be made.
- mbenjaminsmith 13y ago
  That's supposedly how the internet grew as rapidly as it did, yes. I don't buy it for sexy robots though. In order for a robot to be sexier than a blow-up doll they would likely need a level of sophistication that would make them 1) expensive and 2) able to do more valuable tasks. Also, given human nature, someone who could afford a sexy robot could get laid with a human. I don't mean a prostitute either. The real revolution will be robots that can cook, clean and drive (supposing we need drivers by then). Take a look at what a properly trained butler will cost you per year. If you could make a butler robot that costs 100k with a 10 year service life then you'll probably reshape human society.
  - dagw 13y ago
    Designing a single robot that can cook clean and drive sounds pointlessly complex. Much better (and no doubt cheaper) to design an automated car, an automated kitchen, and a self cleaning house as three separate projects. Sure watching a humanoid robot running around your house and doing all those tasks might be novel for a while, but at the end of the day it's the wrong tool for most jobs.
  - informatimago 13y ago
    Yeah, but with a robot, you don't risk having to pay lifetime alimonies, or share half your fortune :-)
- lclarkmichalek 13y ago
  Which is why gay and trans people have been treated so well by patriarchal societies.
prawn 13y ago
I suspect we might attain sufficient dream/sensation implants (dreams planted by suggestion maybe?) before robots pass the uncanny valley. One benefit of the former is privacy; kinda hard to hide a life-size robot from the cleaner, friends, etc. Much easier to secrete simulation files and combine them with your Rift/similar. At first, I think we'll see 360 degree films or animations for the Rift using professional actors. Then the same, but pirate versions with non-porn actors (models and movie stars) and the publicity will be driven by uproar by the actresses in question, Streisand Effect-style. From there, I think it's inevitable that we'll have design-your-own based on motion capture with tweakable body shape and uploadable face images. Some of this might be raw in the early days, but the keenest put up with glacial modems and low-res pictures for years. With time, AI-driven 3D models will become the norm. Porn actors will lend their brand to "signature styles" and moves encoded in software. The next two steps from the 360 degree experiences will be repeated here, but with live-tweaking of modes (nice, naughty, language preferences, etc). I think a purely physical experience with a hardware robot is decades away. For personal physical sensations other than DIY, I think we're more likely to see tactile gloves and some sort of codpiece?! I just hope someone comes up with a more marketable term than that!
meerita 13y ago
Actually, we rented a Real Doll mannequin 12 years ago and was quite real in every aspect. After a interviewing the creator, he was talking about models with mechanical parts, with servos and other stuff to make the real doll alive. I don't know if he reached the goal, but keep in mind is really easy to do such and wouldn't be bad for those who enjoyed the doll as a sexual partner.
marincounty 13y ago
want to have sex with a robot; ask your partner about herpes, aid tests, warts, and if they had all their vaccines right before the fun begins.
Shivetya 13y ago
I do like how they imply men are those who would first take advantage of robots for this purpose. I guess as a society the idea of female self stimulation is a no no in the press? Battery operated boyfriends are just a few extra limbs from being robotic are they not? Its certainly easier to recreate a penis than a vagina. I think the real issue is, will anatomically correct robots become human enough to fall in love with. People certainly don't need them to be human enough to get their jollies
- smallerize 13y ago
  Headline aside, the article seems to be more about companionship than sex. They even have a picture of a realdoll at the top of the article, so they know people already have sex with machines.
gibbitz 13y ago
Why do these articles always confuse the desire to orgasm with a desire for companionship? I'm pretty sure that argument wouldn't be used to defend prostitution over sex with a robot.

31 points by obtino 13y ago

> While no machine, however well-engineered, can ever feel empathy - something which defines us humans - it might be able to simulate it well enough to allow us to play along and treat it as if it were a sentient being. The author seems awfully certain of that although this question isn't anywhere near settled yet. If anything, I feel that the prevailing opinion among philosophers and AI researchers is that robots might indeed one day feel empathy and become sentient.

tyilo 13y ago
I noticed this too and I agree with you.

lutusp 13y ago

That's not what I worry about. I worry that robots won't want to have sex with us.

marshray 13y ago
Or by an off-by-one error in the programming they will want to too much, and skynet will evolve into a co-ed army of insatiable nymphomaniac terminators.
- dutchbrit 13y ago
  Too much?!???
- lutusp 13y ago
  > Or by an off-by-one error in the programming they will want to too much, and skynet will evolve into a co-ed army of insatiable nymphomaniac terminators. Oh my God, I think someone in Hollywood heard you. :)
  - marshray 13y ago
    I reckon this could also be a key element in an awesome cyberwar thriller. [In cavernous command center. Yellow emergency lights spinning.] Dispassionate female announcer: "Online systems failing. Loss of firewall integrity in [three] minutes." General: Dammit! We're losing this cyber-battle. We have only one option left. Corporal! Prepare to initiate contingency plan...LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO! Let me know if they need a creative consultant. :-)
- prawn 13y ago
  Too fast, without letting go. Friction burns, with actual flames. Who wouldn't be terrified of malfunctions!?
  - marshray 13y ago
    "Hello, tech support hotline, how may I help you today?" [pause] "That's perfectly normal ma'am, lots of people smoke after sex." [hangs up]
bostik 13y ago
Even something as outlandish as that has been already envisioned by the extremely offensive Sexy Losers comic. This is potentially NSFW, so proceed with caution: http://sexylosers.com/199.html http://sexylosers.com/199.html (WARNING: If you browse any of the other comics in the archive, you will soon encounter 100% NSFW material.)
johnfuller 13y ago
Right, stay away from the "Bubba 2000" model unless you want to use him as an enforcer, twisted prank or house guardian. ETA: What? You find it annoying when my dog humps your leg? Just wait until you meet my robot.

petera 13y ago

Depends on the robot.

taproot 13y ago

Title is worded as if we dont want to and currently dont already.

jacques_chester 13y ago

A rare exception to Betteridge's Law of Headlines.

Swannie 13y ago
Oddly the BBC has a lot of exceptions to this, based on the past few weeks of "question as headline".
dylangs1030 13y ago
The reason why it's an exception is similarly codifiable. Where normal question-headlines can be quickly fact checked for a definite boolean answer, it's really quite uncertain if we'll ever want to do anything in the future. The headline accepts the uncertainty and explicitly frames it in the title. If you tried to apply Betteridge's "Try answering 'No' to this headline" rule to a headline with a futuristic question, you can't automatically get a straightforward answer, because we really don't know.
- jacques_chester 13y ago
  We can make pretty strong estimates by analogy, given what people are prepared to insert into or have inserted.

skore 13y ago

What I wonder is - If you're married and have sex with a robot, is that cheating? And does whether it is cheating or not depend on the degree to which the AI is "lifelike"?

marshray 13y ago
Or maybe just humanlike? It may be that the uncanny valley makes people prefer their bio bots to be just like humans - except without heads.
dagw 13y ago
The only rules in marriage are the ones you and your spouse agree to. Some couples consider it cheating as soon as you simply flirt with another person, while others are OK with their spouse having sex with other people. So whether it's cheating or not is purely a function on the couple involved.
ohwp 13y ago
Cheating does not depend on physical or lifelike. Cheating is when you say "I love you with all my heart" but in the mean time give your heart to other stuff.
- ordinary 13y ago
  It gets more complicated when you consider that "I love you" carries the implicit "...and I won't ever have sex with anyone but you" subtext. That isn't to say I think masturbation (with or without tools) is cheating, but the lines become a little blurry when you're dealing with human-like robots.

stinos 13y ago

If they look like the ones in the (btw excellent) Swedish series 'Real Humans', then the anser is: without doubt :P edit: the sex thing plays quite a role in the series and it's layed out well - eg a modshop where you can get your robot modified to become more wild/slavish/... in bed, elderly women buying robots as 'company' etc. Recommended.

akandiah 13y ago

The whole concept reminds of the Futurama episode 'I dated a Robot' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dated_a_Robot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dated_a_Robot) It satirises this idea rather well.

DrinkWater 13y ago

If we ever reach that point, i will happily throw myself into a volcano.

colmvp 13y ago
Some people are really unattractive. They will spend the rest of their lives alone no matter how long they look online or offline. So what's the big deal if robots satisfy their needs?
stinos 13y ago
Given people are nowadays already having sex with plastic dolls, rubber vaginas and in extreme cases other dead people, any realist sees that sex with robots will happen. And it will probably during your life, so maybe you should withdraw the volcano statement.
- marshray 13y ago
  Other dead people?! Dude, you've been watching too many zombie movies.
  - stinos 13y ago
    Well yes, I have, but I didn't get the idea there. Sorry to wake you up, but necrophilia is real. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrophilia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrophilia for starters)
    - nanofortnight 13y ago
      (dead people doing it with other dead people)
      - stinos 13y ago
        oops, got me there..

arethuza 13y ago

If you've ever known a nurse who worked in an accident & emergency department then you've probably heard stories about how people already have sex with all manner of strange things.

chrisdl 13y ago
My thoughts exactly. Vacuum cleaner anyone?

colmvp 13y ago

Oculus Rift/Google Glasses + Robots = the next level of masturbation?

smokeybourbon 13y ago

> The main drawback of this type of robot is that they have a very short battery life - they only last for about 20 minutes. Who wants to have sex more than four times anyways?

johnfuller 13y ago
So what? After 20 minutes the robot just lays there and does nothing? If that's due to battery life, then some of the real life partners I have been with had a far shorter battery life than that.

devnetfx 13y ago

From the article - "we would be having sex with robots in five years - and be capable of falling in love with them within 40 years" Let's start the "Human-Robots Marriage Rights" petition now... might take some time for society to accept it!

johnfuller 13y ago

Why would you need AI in a sex robot? People don't go to strip clubs for the great conversation. Though I suppose the AI is the difference between a sex robot and a sex doll. And I suppose any intelligence is better than faked or clever AI. Otherwise you might as well be having sex with a human look-alike Teddy Ruxbin. The $9K price tag estimate isn't too bad. That's probably cheaper than than a lot of people spend on their significant others, not counting accessories so that you can feel like you are getting some "strange" every once in a while. Maybe this could be Apple's next big thing. I don't mind Windows, but the idea of having sex with something which has a Microsoft logo makes me not want to have sex.

coldtea 13y ago
>Why would you need AI in a sex robot? People don't go to strip clubs for the great conversation. You'd be surprised.

Quiark 13y ago

Given that people are already willing to have 'sex' with all kinds of sex toys ... The interesting point will be when humanlike emotions start to appear in the robots.

cousin_it 13y ago

When robots become as attractive as people, there will be no reason for progress to stop at that exact point, so they will quickly become much more attractive. At that point, people who used to be "unattractive" will celebrate because they can finally get a good mate, while people who used to be "attractive" will develop serious self esteem issues. The attractive people will try to take collective action to keep their share of the market, like branding everyone who has sex with robots a "loser" or worse.

bdz 13y ago

Reminds me to this THX 1138 scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-Sa0MlFkg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn-Sa0MlFkg

awjr 13y ago

Gotta say men have and will for ever more stick their dicks into pretty much anything. I wouldn't be surprised if 'sexbots' actually advance realistic robots quicker as suddenly there is profit to be made.

mbenjaminsmith 13y ago
That's supposedly how the internet grew as rapidly as it did, yes. I don't buy it for sexy robots though. In order for a robot to be sexier than a blow-up doll they would likely need a level of sophistication that would make them 1) expensive and 2) able to do more valuable tasks. Also, given human nature, someone who could afford a sexy robot could get laid with a human. I don't mean a prostitute either. The real revolution will be robots that can cook, clean and drive (supposing we need drivers by then). Take a look at what a properly trained butler will cost you per year. If you could make a butler robot that costs 100k with a 10 year service life then you'll probably reshape human society.
- dagw 13y ago
  Designing a single robot that can cook clean and drive sounds pointlessly complex. Much better (and no doubt cheaper) to design an automated car, an automated kitchen, and a self cleaning house as three separate projects. Sure watching a humanoid robot running around your house and doing all those tasks might be novel for a while, but at the end of the day it's the wrong tool for most jobs.
- informatimago 13y ago
  Yeah, but with a robot, you don't risk having to pay lifetime alimonies, or share half your fortune :-)
lclarkmichalek 13y ago
Which is why gay and trans people have been treated so well by patriarchal societies.

prawn 13y ago

I suspect we might attain sufficient dream/sensation implants (dreams planted by suggestion maybe?) before robots pass the uncanny valley. One benefit of the former is privacy; kinda hard to hide a life-size robot from the cleaner, friends, etc. Much easier to secrete simulation files and combine them with your Rift/similar. At first, I think we'll see 360 degree films or animations for the Rift using professional actors. Then the same, but pirate versions with non-porn actors (models and movie stars) and the publicity will be driven by uproar by the actresses in question, Streisand Effect-style. From there, I think it's inevitable that we'll have design-your-own based on motion capture with tweakable body shape and uploadable face images. Some of this might be raw in the early days, but the keenest put up with glacial modems and low-res pictures for years. With time, AI-driven 3D models will become the norm. Porn actors will lend their brand to "signature styles" and moves encoded in software. The next two steps from the 360 degree experiences will be repeated here, but with live-tweaking of modes (nice, naughty, language preferences, etc). I think a purely physical experience with a hardware robot is decades away. For personal physical sensations other than DIY, I think we're more likely to see tactile gloves and some sort of codpiece?! I just hope someone comes up with a more marketable term than that!

meerita 13y ago

Actually, we rented a Real Doll mannequin 12 years ago and was quite real in every aspect. After a interviewing the creator, he was talking about models with mechanical parts, with servos and other stuff to make the real doll alive. I don't know if he reached the goal, but keep in mind is really easy to do such and wouldn't be bad for those who enjoyed the doll as a sexual partner.

marincounty 13y ago

want to have sex with a robot; ask your partner about herpes, aid tests, warts, and if they had all their vaccines right before the fun begins.

Shivetya 13y ago

I do like how they imply men are those who would first take advantage of robots for this purpose. I guess as a society the idea of female self stimulation is a no no in the press? Battery operated boyfriends are just a few extra limbs from being robotic are they not? Its certainly easier to recreate a penis than a vagina. I think the real issue is, will anatomically correct robots become human enough to fall in love with. People certainly don't need them to be human enough to get their jollies

smallerize 13y ago
Headline aside, the article seems to be more about companionship than sex. They even have a picture of a realdoll at the top of the article, so they know people already have sex with machines.

gibbitz 13y ago

Why do these articles always confuse the desire to orgasm with a desire for companionship? I'm pretty sure that argument wouldn't be used to defend prostitution over sex with a robot.