

Will we ever want to have sex with robots? - obtino
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23637225

======
prawn
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!

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

~~~
marshray
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.

~~~
lutusp
> 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
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. :-)

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awjr
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
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
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.

------
arethuza
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
My thoughts exactly. Vacuum cleaner anyone?

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stinos
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.

------
cousin_it
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.

------
skore
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"?

~~~
ohwp
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.

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jacques_chester
A rare exception to Betteridge's Law of Headlines.

~~~
dylangs1030
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
We can make pretty strong estimates by analogy, given what people are prepared
to insert into or have inserted.

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

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akandiah
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.

------
Shivetya
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
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.

------
johnfuller
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
> _Why would you need AI in a sex robot? People don 't go to strip clubs for
> the great conversation._

You'd be surprised.

------
olalonde
> 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
I noticed this too and I agree with you.

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

------
meerita
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.

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devnetfx
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!

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gibbitz
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.

------
Quiark
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.

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

~~~
stinos
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
_Other_ dead people?! Dude, you've been watching too many zombie movies.

~~~
stinos
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
(dead people doing it with _other dead people_ )

~~~
stinos
oops, got me there..

------
petera
Depends on the robot.

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marincounty
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.

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smokeybourbon
> 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
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.

