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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday September 29 2019, @01:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the johnson-and-not-johnson dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

In recent years, sex dolls have become increasing sophisticated and realistic in their resemblance to human beings, including mechanized components, and are thus now referred to as humanoid sex robots. Some media outlets have gone as far as to suggest that sex robots and other social robots will eventually become almost indistinguishable from humans.

This has sparked a number of interesting ethical and philosophical debates related to the significance of these robots and the possibility that future machines will replicate the physical intimacy between two people. In a recent study featured in Springer's International Journal of Social Robotics, two researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Bergamo in Italy have taken a closer look at some of the current arguments and predictions about sex robots, carrying out an ethics-based and critical discourse analysis.

"We started our joint research to debunk some myths and misunderstandings in the media regarding the future of artificial intelligence," Deborah Johnson and Mario Verdicchio, the two researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. "We were struck by how fundamentally flawed some of the ideas were and especially the assumption that the computational version of some aspects of reality are the same as the real thing."

In their paper, Johnson and Verdicchio essentially challenge the perception of humanoid sex robots as robotic substitutes of lovers and companions. They argue that although humanoid robots may look and act more and more like human beings in the future, the claim that they will eventually replace humans is far-fetched and far from a certainty.

"Our research is aimed at showing that humanoid sex robots could come to be understood in ways that keep their status as machines, albeit technologically very sophisticated machines." Johnson and Verdicchio said.

Deborah G. Johnson et al. Constructing the Meaning of Humanoid Sex Robots, International Journal of Social Robotics (2019). DOI: 10.1007/s12369-019-00586-z


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday September 29 2019, @10:43PM (4 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday September 29 2019, @10:43PM (#900569) Journal

    So long as the things aren't self-aware, this will IMO be mostly positive. I'm thinking it will get the incels and the other sickos off our backs a bit, and wondering whether, as creepy and gross as this is, it may be a way to keep pedophiles from becoming actual pedarasts as well. All that goes out the window as soon as strong AI becomes a thing of course.

    The one concern I have is that a nontrivial number of people will stall developmentally and become unable to form real relationships with other flesh and blood humans.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 30 2019, @01:12AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 30 2019, @01:12AM (#900639)

    Look to Japan for where this is headed: https://www.japancrush.com/2013/stories/30-of-single-japanese-men-have-never-dated-a-woman.html [japancrush.com]

    The article below that discusses the survey results highlights the finding that more men than women appear to be reluctant or unable to enter relationships, with 30% of men in their 30s, and the same proportion in their 20s, admitting that they have no experience of dating a woman.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 30 2019, @02:42AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 30 2019, @02:42AM (#900652)

      Even so, if you compromise with an ugly girl you regret it. No matter how dry your throat is, don’t be drinking sewer water.

  • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Monday September 30 2019, @05:44AM (1 child)

    by Magic Oddball (3847) on Monday September 30 2019, @05:44AM (#900702) Journal

    The one concern I have is that a nontrivial number of people will stall developmentally and become unable to form real relationships with other flesh and blood humans.

    What, like the incels & MGTOWers didn't already exist? ;-)

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday October 02 2019, @02:16AM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday October 02 2019, @02:16AM (#901654) Journal

      I don't mean violent or malicious ones like them, just...well, there was some story I heard about someone in Japan who wanted to marry his DS, or some character in it, or something like that.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...