I think that the title of this article pretty well says it all – Sex and marriage with robots? It could happen. But beyond the fact that, well, ‘anything is possible’, I do think that this is a likely possibility. With all the technology and research now available + the increase in promiscuity and sexual liberation + the exploration of different kinds of sexual partners and relationships = the perfect conditions for this type of revolutionary process to happen. I agree with Levy that human-like robots can help ""people who find it hard to form relationships, because they are extremely shy, or have psychological problems, or are just plain ugly or have unpleasant personalities"", and may serve as "an outlet for criminal sexual urges", such as pedophiles. In addition, these robots may "reduce human prostitution and the problems that come with it". BUT it should be emphasized that the consequences and actual outcomes of such a strong introduction are still unknown – and as with almost anything, there will be downsides. I, personally, would rather be married to a real person rather than a robot – I think that resorting to the ‘love’ of a robot would greatly lower my self confidence in creating and maintaining a ‘real’ relationship. Furthermore, as we have discussed in class (Turing), I do not think that every emotion, feeling and touch can be programmed. I think that it has to be natural to feel ‘real’. Although feeling ‘real’ may not be important to everyone, and everyone may not have experienced something ‘real’ to compare a robot’s love and touch to – so when, and if this robotic-love-making revolution takes place…I won’t be the one to judge.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
It probably will happen...
I think that the title of this article pretty well says it all – Sex and marriage with robots? It could happen. But beyond the fact that, well, ‘anything is possible’, I do think that this is a likely possibility. With all the technology and research now available + the increase in promiscuity and sexual liberation + the exploration of different kinds of sexual partners and relationships = the perfect conditions for this type of revolutionary process to happen. I agree with Levy that human-like robots can help ""people who find it hard to form relationships, because they are extremely shy, or have psychological problems, or are just plain ugly or have unpleasant personalities"", and may serve as "an outlet for criminal sexual urges", such as pedophiles. In addition, these robots may "reduce human prostitution and the problems that come with it". BUT it should be emphasized that the consequences and actual outcomes of such a strong introduction are still unknown – and as with almost anything, there will be downsides. I, personally, would rather be married to a real person rather than a robot – I think that resorting to the ‘love’ of a robot would greatly lower my self confidence in creating and maintaining a ‘real’ relationship. Furthermore, as we have discussed in class (Turing), I do not think that every emotion, feeling and touch can be programmed. I think that it has to be natural to feel ‘real’. Although feeling ‘real’ may not be important to everyone, and everyone may not have experienced something ‘real’ to compare a robot’s love and touch to – so when, and if this robotic-love-making revolution takes place…I won’t be the one to judge.
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