Here’s what newspapers published as far back as ten years ago:
“Brittany is a natural brunette, with blue eyes and soft white skin, she likes peach lipstick and wears just a little make-up. She dresses classically, knows the Byzantine history by heart, cooks well and is an amazing lover. She will make a man’s wildest fantasies come true, she doesn’t nag, doesn’t make scenes and it is theoretically impossible for her to cheat on a man. All men would agree that 6,800 dollars for a woman with such qualities is a bargain!”
US manufacturers of RealDoll androids, who pride themselves with making anatomically perfect dolls since 1996, have been quite shaken by news that in the German city of Neumark, near Nurnberg, a manufacturer has started producing androids with skin that is soft and warm to the touch, and with cold feet. And connoisseurs know that these are the characteristics of a real woman.
“Her skin is synthetic, but otherwise not much different from human skin. She has built-in sensors and if she is programmed for one man, she will not accept anyone else into her bed, otherwise the sensors would shut down. This ‘creature’ can walk, make tea, recite Goethe…”
The buyer (the future “husband”) can choose everything: from eye, hair and skin color, through height, breast, hip and lip size, to knowledge that will be deposited in her head. Also, this “woman” is infinitely patient, doesn’t hate her mother-in-law, doesn’t mind her husband’s Saturday night drinks with his pals, his watching games, leaving things all over the place, putting his feet up on the table, burping…
“These androids are nothing short of heralds of the new world order,” says David Levy, the author of Love + Sex With Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relations. “The evolution of the human species implies that in the future, humans will make love to robots! This will happen in less than 40 years. Robots will become very attractive to humans as partners because of their advantages and possibilities.”
Jewish ethicist Barak Lurie has already voiced his sincere apprehension: “Soon, you and I will have acquaintances, mostly men, who will live with sexual robots. Since these robots will look as alive as possible, these people will have “relationships” with sexbots, who can be as beautiful as they want them to be, as much sexually appealing as they desire, and as obedient as requested.” Internet porn has already wreaked havoc of its own kind, because smartphones have led men to stop trying to attract women. What awaits us when we have sexbots that can be easily purchased? Lurie is not optimistic about the future of mankind: “Sexual robots will be worse than pornography because they will create an illusion of a relationship, an illusion of a physical touch, of skin to skin, which is very important for men. They will be under an illusion that this is not just self-satisfaction and that they are not mere losers. Which they are.”
Sexbots cannot be sexually abused or harassed – therefore, men will give up on women who keep asking for something and nagging all the time.
James Young is a BBC presenter who reports on new technologies. He thinks highly of them because thanks to robotics, he was able to replace body parts he had lost in a train accident. However, in his documentary “The Future of Sex? Sex Robots and Us,” he points out that this type of robotics can be the dark side of AI. We will reach a dangerous point when a relationship with a robot becomes applicable to the relationship with women.
Noel Sharkey, a computer scientist and Emeritus Professor of robotics and AI at the University of Sheffield, a co-founder and co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, stressed that the production of sexbots will have grave consequences: “This creates an attitude of too easy sex, because robots are always available. Although I love AI, I struggle that we must try and maintain a human culture, what is meaningful to us. We’re doing all this stuff with machines because we can, and not really thinking about the societal impact enough, not thinking how this could completely change humanity, take meaning out of our lives and turn us into zombies. These thoughts keep me awake at night,” he says.
Though the Japanese used to lead the way in sex-doll manufacture, a Spanish company has gone a step further. Dolls are now equipped with artificial intelligence, they can speak and, thanks to sensors, they can react to various stimuli in the “E-zones”, they collect data about intercourse and adjust their behavior to their “partner.” They cost around 20,000 dollars. Because of the quality of their skin, face design and human voice, they are called “hyper-realistic” dolls.
Bordellos in Barcelona are keeping up with the trend – clients can choose either real women or robots.
When Young visited a sexbot factory in Japan, and saw models that looked like immature girls, he was reduced to tears – he has witnessed the horror of the future we are heading to.
There are those who are fighting against such future, such as the US Republican congressman Dan Donovan who is advocating for a ban on these pedophilic sexbots: “Once an abuser tires of practicing on a doll, it’s a small step to move on to a child. And this isn’t mere speculation. Psychologists and researches believe that these dolls reinforce, normalize and encourage pedophilic behavior, potentially putting more children at risk to harm.”
Advocates of “freedom” have already raised their voices, claiming that sex with young robots will help reduce pedophilia. Professor Sharkey says this is not true, as this practice will have a pernicious impact on our society and will normalize attacks on children. It will be possible to make a robotic replica based on a child’s photograph. Professor Sharkey believes that international laws must be passed to prevent this from happening.