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Artificial Sexuality: A Round-Table Discussion on Screwing Robots

posted by n1 on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the mrs.-palm-will-be-jealous dept.

AnonTechie writes with an article from Hopes&Fears :

The concept of AI—specifically of the foxy, sexualized persuasion—has permeated pop culture for a very long time, most recently exemplified with Alex Garland's Ex Machina.

Technology, as it is wont to do, continues surging forward, simultaneously beckoning or threatening (depending on personal outlook) the potential of true artificial intelligence. And should these AI rise up, what kind of role would sexuality and sexual identity play in their existence—if at all? Hopes&Fears corralled a group of varied experts to weigh in through a group panel discussion to see what the future holds for us, the AI... and our respective crotch parts.

What does the SoylentNews community think about this?

 
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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:23AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:23AM (#186827)

    This is already quite common in Japan. Most Japanese sex robots have genitalia components that can be swapped in and out. You can put a vagina on your robot, or a penis and scrotum, or just a penis, or just a scrotum, or make it a hermaphrodite with both a penis and vagina. There are even components that offer three or four penises, and some that even put on octopus tentacles.

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  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:28AM

    by kaszz (4211) on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:28AM (#186828) Journal

    Octopus tentacles in a sexual context must be a Japanese specialty. Can't recall any other country into that as much ;)

    • (Score: 2, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:38AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:38AM (#186831)

      The preoccupation with tentacles is actually an artificial creation itself. The west imposed strict censorship standards on Japan, so some enterprising artists realized there was no law against showing women penetrated by non-sexual organs/entities. Tentacles were phallic enough to work for porn, so now we have people that actually prefer them because they are familiar.

      • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:48AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:48AM (#186832)

        It's always Westerners to blame for every problem, isn't it?

        Goddamn post-WWII Western assholes, forcing the Japanese to draw beastial octopus erotica like their beloved The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife (1814) [wikipedia.org] .

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:00PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:00PM (#186835)

          I never implied that it was a problem, only that it led to a spread of the preference. The fact that there are historical examples of bestiality with octopi does not negate the effect that censorship had on the production of pornography.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:07PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:07PM (#186838)

            The fact is that sexual penetration by octopus is a deeply ingrained part of Japanese culture. In fact, it may be deemed the essence of Japanese culture; the one thing that separates Japanese culture from all other cultures. Censorship has nothing to do with it. This concept runs deep with the Japanese. It always has, and always will.

            • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:40PM

              by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:40PM (#186849) Journal

              Nope that's not fact.

              Scholar Danielle Talerico notes that the image would have recalled to the minds of contemporary viewers the story of Princess Tamatori, highly popular in the Edo period. In this story, Tamatori is a modest shell diver who marries Fujiwara no Fuhito of the Fujiwara clan, who is searching for a pearl stolen from his family by Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea. Vowing to help, Tamatori dives down to Ryūjin's undersea palace of Ryūgū-jō, and is pursued by the god and his army of sea creatures, including octopuses. She cuts open her own breast and places the jewel inside; this allows her to swim faster and escape, but she dies from her wound soon after reaching the surface.

              Contemporary censorship in Japan dates to the Meiji period. The influence of European Victorian culture was a catalyst for legislative interest in public sexual mores. Post-WWII, the Allies imposed a number of reforms on the Japanese government including anti-censorship laws. The legal proscriptions against pornography, therefore, derive from the nation’s penal code.

              At present, “obscenity” is still prohibited. How this term is interpreted has not remained constant. While exposed genitalia (and until recently pubic hair) are illegal, the diversity of permissible sexual acts is now wide compared with other liberal democracies. In the 1980s, however, even “sensual scenes in bed” were unacceptable.

              Leaders within the tentacle porn industry have stated that much of their work was initially directed at circumventing this policy. The animator Toshio Maeda stated: “At that time pre-Urotsuki Doji, it was illegal to create a sensual scene in bed. I thought I should do something to avoid drawing such a normal sensual scene. So I just created a creature. His tentacle is not a penis as a pretext. I could say, as an excuse, this is not a penis; this is just a part of the creature. You know, the creatures, they don't have a gender. A creature is a creature. So it is not obscene - not illegal. (“Manga Artist Interview Series (Part 1),” 2002)”

              It's just a tale of mythology [wikipedia.org] and modern censorship.

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              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:56PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @12:56PM (#186852)

                Yes, we know. That backs up exactly what we've been saying: that octopus tentacle rape is not a new phenomenon, but rather a core part of Japanese culture for hundreds of years.

        • (Score: 2) by Tork on Saturday May 23 2015, @08:13PM

          by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 23 2015, @08:13PM (#186951) Journal
          Re-read his post, he didn't use the word 'invent'.
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    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:56AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:56AM (#186834) Journal

      Octopus tentacles in a sexual context must be a Japanese specialty. Can't recall any other country into that as much ;)

      Not for the lack of trying [archive.org]. Also, the topic may lead to a successful career, such as James Cameron's [wikipedia.org].

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @08:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @08:30PM (#186960)

    I have never seen stuff like this on Japanese dolls. American makers will do trans attachments but the Japanese makers are surprisingly heteronormative.

    Are you sure you're not mistaking some T Murakami pop art for actual sex dolls?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2015, @11:09PM (#186990)

    What no power tools?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @09:46AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @09:46AM (#187128)

    LINKS!! Where are the LINKS!!