Sex robots and mechanical boxers

Robots are playing more and greater roles in industry, entertainment and everyday life.

They are already performing some menial tasks, retrieving items from a stockroom, for example, and supporting sophisticated manufacturing for the automotive, aviation and electronics industries. They are assisting surgeons performing delicate operations, and they are helping police and military forces, where they keep humans at a distance from dangerous environments. Some robots are exploring other worlds.

Events that feature battles between robots are gaining in popularity. The battles provide some mean entertainment for an audience but also stimulate developers to pursue greater understanding of the technology. For a few people, the competitions spark interests in electronics and computer science, and in a small way they contribute to the advancement of robotics, if only by stimulating some young people to plan for careers in the field.

Advances in the engineering of robots for one application often spur the development of machines for other uses. For example, research aimed at improving the ability of robots to play physical games--bowling, baseball, table tennis, pool, to name a few--is useful to scientists and engineers focused on designing robots that assist people with physical infirmities to keep their routines going and maintain their independence. And in time, humanoids could replace boxers, whenever our society finally decides to save humans from battering each other in the ring.

Nevertheless, the future will see more ‘distributed robotics' than androids like Mr. Data. Most robots will be specialized mechanisms generally hidden from ordinary view, not the multipurpose autonomous machines that try to do everything a human can and look like one besides.

For the most part, distributed robotics or dedicated devices--machines for doing only specialized work, those that bear no resemblance to human beings--are more efficient and cost-effective than all-purpose androids. Single-purpose machines are relatively simple, cheaper, and easier to repair or replace.

In any case, there is no reason to give all robots a human appearance, much less a human personality, except where the appearance and behavior of humans are indispensable. One such case would be where deception is required, for example, in military or counterintelligence applications.

And there is another realm where humanoid robots would be desired: sexual entertainment. In this, a benign ‘deception' is essential to satisfy the needs of human users, although the users must assist in the process: they have to suspend their disbelief to enjoy themselves thoroughly. If the machines are designed well enough, such disbelief could vanish in a wink.

So in certain cases, distributed robotics can never be adequate. Androids will have a place in our future. And most of them will be sexual companions.

There are few serious ethical issues with robots that help lift heavy loads or screw bolts into a chassis. Most often, the greatest concern in these instances relates to the displacement of workers from jobs on which they depend to support themselves and their families.

There are more ethical issues associated with creating humanoids to replace human boxers. That project would push far forward the limits of engineering, in the meantime preventing many people from causing severe and lasting damage to their brains. But it may not do much to increase our empathy for fellow humans or decrease the bloodlust of certain fans: it may desensitize viewers to violence against sentient beings.

But of all the uses for robots, the uses of robots for emotional companionship and sexual activity produce the most numerous and most complicated ethical questions.

Science fiction often anticipates real developments in technology and explores the impact of those developments on human life. To some degree, science fiction has already examined personal relationships and sexual activities with robots. Here are three examples in movies:

In 'Westworld' (1973), Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) see a couple of females in a saloon. Peter asks John, "Are those two girls machines?" And then, after their sexual encounter, John says, "How was it? Wasn't it terrific? Boy, machines are the servant of man. Was that great?"

In 'The Stepford Wives' (1974), Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) moves into a community where several of the wives she meets are curiously perfect minions for their husbands.

In 'Blade Runner' (1982), the mission of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is 'retiring' replicants. But he becomes emotionally involved with and a protector to the replicant Rachel (Sean Young).

Even though many of the consequences of using robots instead of human beings for sexual interactions have yet to be explored, a few implications are foreseeable:

Easy availability of sexual satisfaction

Among the reasons why a human would prefer sex with a robot are the problems that can prevent a satisfactory human encounter. Menstruation, pain, frigidity, premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, one person simply not being in the mood--all of these at one time or another prevent enjoyable intercourse.

Just waiting for the right moment is a feature of human sexual behavior. Indeed, for many people, the right moment never comes. Sexual frustration is common: everyone experiences it on many occasions in a lifetime. Sometimes there is only a temporary lack of opportunity for sexual expression, as when a mate is away or has a headache or is too tired to play.

But sometimes the lack of opportunity appears permanent, since the reasons for it, like ugliness or pathological shyness, are more persistent. Masturbation is a common way to deal with the absence of a partner when the appetite for sex is strong. Employment of prostitutes is another manifestation of the drive for sexual release.

But if people find some enjoyment in pornography or romance novels and masturbation or in short times with prostitutes, then on occasion surely they would consider the use of sex machines, if they were available. The use of these machines would enable humans to bypass the many obstacles that present themselves as people try to find pleasing encounters with others. On occasion, some sexually sophisticated people may find their human companions boring and may yearn for more adventure. Advanced robots could provide that.

Freedom from disease

The circulatory, lymphatic and nervous systems of humans provide vast areas in which bacteria and viruses can roam and a great many places in which these causes of disease can hide. Robots, having no need to carry inside them pools of potentially infected blood and lymph offer the possibility of complete disinfection after each sexual contact with a human. Thus they would help prevent the spread of disease. In an age when some sexually transmitted diseases threaten to take human lives, robots which can be thoroughly sterilized could become especially attractive.

Freedom from responsibility for pregnancy

Sex with robots guarantees freedom from the duties associated with reproduction: it provides pleasure without the fear of impregnation, contracting lifelong obligations to a partner or an offspring.

Separation of sexual pleasure from human relationships

When humans have sex with machines, they are separating sexual pleasure from human relationships. There is no need to start a conversation or establish rapport, and there are no complaints about lack of respect or failure to make a commitment. But human attachments to robots could stir up jealousies among humans who feel slighted. And affairs with robots could prompt divorces.

Impact on prostitution

Sex robots could have a negative effect on human employment. Even animated holograms threaten to put strippers and sex performers out of work. Robots could do so. Given some assumptions, sex robots could reduce the trade in human flesh. There would have to be an adequate supply of robots: sufficient numbers of various models to suit diverse preferences. The robots would have to be affordable. And they would have to be of sufficient quality, that is, match convincingly the appearance and sexual ability of humans, to attract much attention and use.

In addition, the more people are concerned about contracting diseases from prostitutes, the greater would be their demand for robotic companions. These factors could tip the balance in favor of the machines. And prostitution could be dealt a serious blow.

The availability of robots for the satisfaction of the sex drive, however, would not eliminate prostitution altogether. Humans will always need money for food and too often want money for drugs. So some people will continue to sell sexual services. And then if robots are unavailable or are too expensive or are of poor quality, and if the concern for contracting a sexually transmitted disease is discounted, those with powerful desires will still prefer hookers.

The most sophisticated, most desirable machines may always cost more to own than most people could afford to pay. At the outset, only the very affluent will be able to afford to own robot companions. For some time, human beings will continue to be less expensive to hire.

Leasing a robot for a few months or years might be an alternative to an outright purchase. But renting the use of one for a few minutes or hours might be the most popular choice. This arrangement, as opposed to private ownership, may also be best for the clientèle, because it would offer them the enjoyment of various machines. And variety in sex partners, as much as ease and familiarity with a particular partner, often enhances the enjoyment of sexuality.

Brothels with robots could become as popular as the traditional variety, in areas where prostitution is legal. They could become cost-effective for owners: robots, unlike human prostitutes, would never need to sleep, eat or argue for receiving paid vacations or group insurance.

Economic boom

Only the wealthy or the otherwise privileged few can afford to own certain machines and appliances right after their introduction. But as technologies develop, and as consumers begin to see the value of the new products, mass markets for those goods are born, and prices for the items fall.

A major new industry may emerge with the introduction of sex robots: engineers and designers of machines, suppliers and distributors of parts, repair personnel, advertising and marketing executives, and managers of the centers where the robots are purchased or rented--the demand for people to fill these roles will boom.

Consumers are willing to spend significant amounts of their incomes on entertainment. Many if not most 'model shops', brothels of the future, could be staffed with sex robots. The financial returns for investing in those robots could easily get to be as great as those for the computer or even the automobile industry. Business owners who buy the machines and charge rent for their use stand to make good incomes. And the biggest operators could make a fortune.

As always, entrepreneurs who want to start up and run companies must consider the legal and political ramifications of their line of work. Yet if they overcame the legal challenges, manufacturers could design robots to look like celebrities. Those who have had fantasies about going to bed with a particular actor or centerfold model could order a replica of their object of desire from a manufacturer. A very selective client might order a copy of an acquaintance who refuses to get involved in a relationship.

Those whose faces and bodies have been replicated--to an arbitrarily high degree of accuracy, to include freckles and fingerprints--would garner royalties.

Present brothel owners are unlikely to worry that model shops would hurt their businesses. The shops would probably appear first in areas with a history of legal or tolerated prostitution. Regular clients of prostitutes will not quickly abandon their live companions in favor of lifeless dolls. Nonetheless those clients might venture to try the machines. In any case, present brothel owners would be as free to open robot shops as anyone else or to add robots to their list of offerings.

Quality of interaction

Intelligent machines could hold more than a sexual interest. When robots are highly educated, when they are able to communicate in several foreign languages and earn a Ph.D. quicker than humans, they might be fascinating intellectual companions as well as sex objects. Then conversations with robots could be more delightful and more informative than conversations with many human beings. The human potential for learning has no fixed boundary, nor does the potential of robots for accumulating, processing and presenting information.

The people who are most concerned with status or who want a way to justify their dalliance with a machine are more likely to insist that their artificial companions offer something for the mind as well as the body. But even robots at the bottom of the product line will offer titillating talk.

Until robots get very good at what they do, they may be a source of very disappointing experiences. But if engineers concentrate on developing sexual robotics to a fraction of the extent that they have concentrated on cars and computers, robots would easily surpass humans in sexual performance.

The sexual initiation of humans

The sexual initiation of adolescents or older inexperienced people may take place with robots. This would ensure or at least increase the probability that the sexual initiate would have an experience that is free from anxiety and psychological trauma. The robots that serve as educators will be designed to perform according to the expectations of society and especially according to the expectations of parents. Therefore, the sex education conducted by robots would give all who receive it a taste of the conventional styles of intercourse.

Robots could be programmed to resist and even punish abusive behavior. So people could get valuable lessons for future sexual encounters. As generations of adolescents now receive rather uniform instruction for driving cars, future generations may be prepared by robot instructors for eventual entry into a sex life with humans. And adults who want to introduce variety into their sex lives by learning new techniques could turn to robots for training.

Disruption of human relationships

Unfortunately, jealousies among humans could develop over the use of sex robots. A husband or wife could easily resent a spouse's devotion of time, attention, and sexual energy to a machine. And the pain of losing a spouse to a robot would be greater than the pain of losing a spouse to a sport or hobby or other interest. And the anger that emerges may well be commensurate with the feeling of hurt.

If robots were sentient beings, we would likely feel compelled to give them rights, respect their autonomy, protect them from exploitation. The prospect that humanity will ever bring consciousness to inanimate matter is extremely remote. Anyway, until we do, our most sophisticated machines will not be entitled to the same rights that conscious beings deserve. And yet extremely advanced androids--those that have the ability to simulate human expressions of enjoyment and pain--may persuade us otherwise: they may convince people to give robots all the deference and respect we give to other humans.

A bad education

For users of sex robots, many more options than training in elementary sexual techniques will be available. This is not all for the good. The choices that adults make in their relationships with robots may work to their detriment. Sex with robots enables the complete divorce of sexual activity from the care for and respect of the partner. What the punching bag is to the boxer in training, the robot could be to the adult in search of a sexual thrill.

Some people may become accustomed to dishing out abuse to beings who simulate reactions to pain: if humans can take delight in causing a robot to shriek, bleed, or faint, and can do so with impunity, then we will have training camps for extreme brutality. And even though psychological abuse would not hurt the machines, it might still misdirect humans. The behavior accepted in the presence of robots might manifest itself in dealings with other humans and produce terrifying consequences.

Confusion

The presence of robots in society might create confusion in humans. We might mistake a human for a robot or a robot for a human. This might be disconcerting, embarrassing, and aggravating. And the resulting troubles could range from mild to serious: mistaken identities could be the basis for practical jokes that are easily dismissed, or they could be the basis for legal proceedings that grind on for years and cost fortunes. We might also have confusion in our systems of values: we could start to think that robots, because they satisfy our needs better than humans can, are more valuable than humans.

Separation from reality

The technology which makes the image of a human body more and more lifelike and which is helping to blur the distinction between illusion and reality, makes the user ever more likely to substitute the image for the reality it copies. In using robots for sexual performers, there could be a danger to psychological health. If the products of our imaginations captivate us, they could impair either our ability to understand the real world, our ability to function effectively in it, or our ability to return to it when the illusion has passed.

The problems that may result from too deep an involvement with an imaginary world include the difficulties one encounters when one returns to the real world. If living in the imaginary world for any length of time makes living in the real world uncomfortable, then we might want to control our flights into fantasy.

Imagination enables us to separate ourselves in a way from the real world. This ability helps us escape drudgery, boredom and pain. But the fear in wandering too far from reality is that we may be unwilling to return to it or, if the captivation is strong enough, unable. Losing touch with reality is separating ourselves from the sources of physical and emotional nourishment, moving out of safety to a dangerous place where we are trapped.

Robots as spies

While one satisfaction of using a robot comes from knowing that the robot is unconscious of what the human looks like or does, there may still be a reason for worry: what transpires in the meeting between the human user and robot may be used by other humans to the user's detriment. Robots could be ideal spies: they are impersonal, unemotional (beyond what they can simulate), and lacking in a fear of death (beyond the programming they receive in order to protect themselves). Thus they could present a grave danger to human privacy.

Whether robots are completely autonomous or controlled from a remote location, the user may worry that he or she is not really alone: all activities might be monitored or recorded. The least sophisticated technology would enable the robot to record the interaction with the client either for a debriefing later or for transmission of data in real‑time. The most sophisticated technology would enable the robot to discuss human behavior with those who are not bound to respect human interests.

Essential differences

Of all the possible changes the development of robots might bring to people, one might be a renewed appreciation for biological life. In particular, the mystery of life might provoke in future generations of humans new spells of wonder. Despite our magnificent ability to replicate or simulate certain objects that we find desirable, we are unlikely ever to create--except in ordinary human reproduction--the kind of conscious beings that we are. Even so, as time goes on, we will be ever more capable of speeding history up and turning it in strange and dangerous new directions.

We are fast approaching a time when some of our inventions, our possible successors in evolution, the robots, will develop to all appearances free will. They have already surpassed us in stamina; by then, they will have long surpassed us in physical skill and intellectual ability. At that point, they will become most interesting--and most dangerous. At that point they will become to all appearances most human.