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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: 2) by DannyB on Monday September 30 2019, @04:41PM (3 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday September 30 2019, @04:41PM (#900854) Journal

    Suppose a sex robot is better than the real thing. Like sugar is sweeter than natural sugars in vegetables and fruits.

    The robot may do a better job than a human partner. Or better than you can do to your self.

    The experience may be addictive. Even more than pr0n is said to be addictive. This may lead to inability to perform with a human partner. Even if pr0n were used along with the human partner.

    Human populations decline due to attrition / disinterest in reproduction. Sex robots take over the world. VGER planet is end result. Mission accomplished.

    --
    Don't put a mindless tool of corporations in the white house; vote ChatGPT for 2024!
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 30 2019, @05:40PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 30 2019, @05:40PM (#900876)

    Drugs are big business.

    Where is my LSD making robot?

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday September 30 2019, @07:20PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday September 30 2019, @07:20PM (#900942) Journal

      The big business would have a problem with your 2nd sentence.

      It would be in the interest of the big business if the robot merely dispenses rather than manufactures what it dispenses.

      Then you go back to big business for refills.

      --
      Don't put a mindless tool of corporations in the white house; vote ChatGPT for 2024!
  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday October 02 2019, @03:06AM

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday October 02 2019, @03:06AM (#901687) Journal

    That's a concern too: hypernormal stimuli. People already have problems controlling their appetites and something that reaches directly down into the R-complex like this has potential to be seriously addicted.

    And, at the same time, it'll still leave them empty, because it can't love them. That's what most people are missing: not just sex, but sex in the context of love.

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