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Romancing the robot

SIRI AGRELL

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 3:45 PM EDT 18/11/07

Artificial intelligence? Think artificial nookie. One expert says that by 2050, men and women will be having intimate relations with lifelike machines ...Read the full article

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  1. dallas mcquarrie from Regina, Canada writes: Spontaneity can be programmed ...

    'Nuff said.
  2. Ely Sbrozzi from Toronto, writes: Clearly a very prudent use of funds allocated to science. The research, development and marketing of sex robots... By the way doctor, how is the cure for cancer coming along?
  3. Chris Horak from Toronto, Canada writes: hahahahahahha, hilarious.

    What happens when the conscious robots end up rejecting their respective partners? Maybe they would enjoy having sexual relations with other robots more!

    This is a slippery slope in my opinion...

    Does anyone else think that our society is moving in the wrong direction regarding human interaction? Shouldn't we spend our time and resources trying to improve human interaction as opposed to finding more ways around it?

    Soon it will be possible to go through your entire day, doing everything you would normally do, but not have one interaction with another human being. Isn't there something slightly disturbing about that?
  4. Mr. Justice from Canada writes: Reminds me of an old Henny Youngman joke . . . gee . . . does anybody out there remember Henny Youngman ? I would tell the joke here, but the G&M would delete it; too bad . . . it was pretty funny.
  5. Roland Neissinger from Latteville, Canada writes: .....and the world was worried about overpopulation.........
  6. Scrooge McDuck from Calgary, Canada writes: "...people will have to wait until the middle of the century to experience true love with robots because conversation is one of the most difficult problems facing artificial intelligence researchers."

    Who said anything about talking...
  7. Bill Needle from Canada writes: Every few years another "AI expert" tells us how AI and robots are gonna be the huge things that change the lives of everyday people. The reporter and the expert (and most of us) aren't gonna be around in 2050 so they can say just about anything and usually do.

    The reality of AI over the past 50 years is limited progress in neural networks and molecular computing and little in robotics. But it is fun and exciting research and articles like this are purely intended to benefit the research monies availability. Artificial sex aids have been around for thousands of years but nature's methods always seem to prevail.
  8. whatsthe difference from TORONTO, Canada writes: i love this one.... some men and women are already having intimate relations with life like machines
  9. Jim Summers from Canada writes: I for one welcome our robot overlords!
  10. Amy Lavender Harris from Toronto, Canada writes: Robot lovers are an old theme in science fiction; one thoughtful rendering of this subject is Tanith Lee's The Silver Metal Lover (1981). But the real difficulty isn't a technological one -- the real challenge is whether people can manage not to simply transfer their existing sexual compulsions and neuroses to the mechanical modality, and indeed whether the mechanical modality is not itself an expression of neurosis.

    If Walter Benjamin was alive today, he'd be writing an op-ed piece called 'Sex in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' ...
  11. Bill Needle from Canada writes: And the graphic of the robot and the woman is sexist and inaccurate. Males acquire and use artificial sex aids vastly more than women. Kinsey and other subsequent reports have consistently shown that.
  12. Simon Garth from istanbul, Turkey writes: My only concern is that I probably will not be alive by then.
    I have always supported every idea that suggests more sex with less trouble. In fact, I think neurology can provide us with the same sexual pleasure even without the aid of any physical substances, some simple wiring mechanism might do as well.
    Come on men, we should support such vital researches, have we not been tortured and robbed enough by women until now? At least your robot will not be expecting anything from the life insurance guys when you die or are killed.
  13. RD Lone from Vancouver, Canada writes: Huh? Conversation? Why yes.. if my girlfriend decided she didn't want to "communicate" on a regular basis I would refuse to put out immediately!

    Anyway, this is bound to happen. Fifty years ago I doubt anyone would have guessed how prevalent vibrators etc would have become.
  14. Simon Garth from istanbul, Turkey writes: And all the organic women can be employed at the assembly lines of those robot manufacturing plants while we are having fun around.
  15. Scrooge McDuck from Calgary, Canada writes: Amy...you're turning me on!
  16. Brad F from Canada writes: Is this a joke? LOL seriously this is out there...I don't know what to think of it....would my robot girlfriend have teeth?
  17. zachary jacobson from ottawa, Canada writes: I imagine sex-at-a-distance will have progressed to a popular technology sooner than 2050.

    Somewhere between 'phone sex and telepresence.
    Let's call it...er..."telefun".
  18. Winston Churchill from London, Canada writes: Predictable. Count on humanity to redirect every promising technical advance to a damaging or dangerous use. Why am I convinced that human history will end with fiasco? Would be too funny (in a sardonic sort of way) if we died out because we were breeding with . . . robots, so advanced that the genuine article just wasn't good enough any longer. First on the road to extinction, of course, would be the secular West with birthrates already indicating our looming dodo-isation.
  19. E W from Canada writes: Hey, Tannith Lee called. She wants her story pitch back.
  20. John Hinkley from Thornhill, ON, Canada writes: Remember the old joke: "How do tell when a ** is having an or*sm?" Answer: "She drops her nail file!"

    Let's face some folks are already having sex with machines!

    Regardless, surely there are more serious medical concerns to spend funds on - like a cure for cancer!
  21. Craig Cooper from Toronto, writes: Robots?

    Why do you think our arms are the length that they are?
  22. P L from toronto, Canada writes: Maybe they should've shown us "Electro Gonorrhoea: The Noisy Killer" back in high school health - DON'T DATE ROBOTS!
  23. John E7 from Saltspring Island, Canada writes: Meh I dunno about Love Bots. I think in 50 years we will clone ourselves, twink genders if necessary and have sex with ourselves ;)'
  24. s k from Toronto, Canada writes: I see an investment opportunity.
  25. Rollo Tomasi from Rolling Doughnut, Belgium writes: Some men will stick their Dicks into anything...
  26. Susie Q from Canada writes: What if it malfunctions? YOUCH!
  27. V C from Toronto, Canada writes: I love you, Meatbag.
  28. Alter Ego from Montreal, Canada writes: I hope she doesn't cheat on me with the toaster!
  29. J Lee from North Vancouver, Canada writes: I'm going to take mine with me on a trip to Mars. We should be there by then, shouldn't we? But what if my wife wants to go too, does that make two couples or just one ?
  30. Orgasmatron 9000 from the future. from Ontario, Canada writes: 'RD Lone from Vancouver, Canada writes: [...]
    Anyway, this is bound to happen. Fifty years ago I doubt anyone would have guessed how prevalent vibrators etc would have become'.

    Greetings from the future human. You may find the following article from 'Slate' magazine, circa 2005, interesting.

    It seems the vibrator may have been a bit more prevalent in the past than you imagine.

    'For Pleasure: A history of the vibrator'
    http://www.slate.com/id/2121835/

    Now, I am off to do some shopping; a quart of Pennzoil ultra-glide for my love and a new vintage 'Vibrance' razor for his wife.
  31. Ken DeLuca from Arnprior, Canada writes: "In the book, he predicts that by 2050, men and women will be enjoying physical and emotional bonds with extremely lifelike, apparently conscious and remarkably suave robots."

    But what does Mrs. Harper think of all this?
  32. Ely Sbrozzi from Toronto, writes: I have been struck with the sudden desire to watch "Blade Runner" and read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep".
  33. Kevin Brandt from Toronto, Canada writes: What will we call these people? Robosexuals?
  34. Alistair McLaughlin from Ottawa, Canada writes: Yeah, and by 1984, everyone will own their own airplane.
  35. Patrick Star from Toronto, Canada writes: So let's say in the near future, we are able to create life-like, intelligent robots...and all this guy can think about is having sex with them?! He is my new hero.
  36. Wasabi Jones from Canada writes: Man I wish I had this technology now. I know of about a billion or so horny men in China who would gladly scrape together 50 bucks for such a contraption. That's 50 bil! And if I could just program it to make sandwiches and bring beer to the couch, my income would be off the charts!
  37. Stacey Berg from North Vancouver, Canada writes: Has anyone thought of the emotional warfare that might occur between two people in a relationship? For Pete's sake, some people get jealous when their partner spends too much time with the dog or TV! So, when they say that robot sex could reduce occurence of teenage pregnancy let's stop and think about the real reasons teenagers (and even adults) have sex. Acceptance and/or peer pressure. So if all teenagers just had a robot they could program it to accept them and not pressure them. So really, they wouldn't need friends. In fact, we could just breed new generations of socially inept people. Not to mention that might be the last generation of people because I don't think robot procreation has been fine-tuned. And if you can't program your robot to do/say/act how you like then wouldn't you just get a... person? I realize we already have small scale robot sex (vibrators etc) and I realize it's all relative but I picture a sad world when the emotional bandaid for the lonely and miserable is as far-fetched as robot sex. (But love with a robot IS even harder to imagine). ... So, would that mean that after a steamy session of sexbot lovin' you might roll over and exclaim, "that was ROBOTIC!!!"???
  38. Alberto Bayo from Canada writes: Turn the lights down low, turn on the Kraftwerk tunes...Oooohhhh baby, nice hard-drive...
  39. Catherine Prickett from Ottawa, Canada writes: As someone who sells sex toys and also reads science fiction, there's a problem with equating a vibrator (or, for males, masturbation sleeve) with a sex doll. The former is a tool -- many such tools are shaped like body parts because that's the shape that does the job best. There is no illusion that it has a personality or can replace a full human being. The buyers of RealDolls, on the other hand, do project their ideas of an ideal partner onto their dolls, to the extent of rejecting real humans for the company of a passive object... and, for some, to the extent of damaging the dolls when they're angry. (To give the RealDoll company some credit, they will refuse service to a customer who repeatedly brings in a doll with marks of deliberate damage.)
  40. stuvian von gruvian from Canada writes: note to self...tell broker to short Viagra stock
  41. Susie Q from Canada writes: mmm, Blade Runner... If my android looks like Harrison Ford or Rutger Hauer then I'm all for it.
  42. M S from Toronto, Canada writes: Cost of a robotic sex partner: likely thousands of dollars.

    Cost of fantasization and masturbation: free. Plus, we already possess all the required technology. Got a brain? Got a hand, or a pelvis? Got privacy? You're all set.
  43. Randal Oulton from Canada writes: Hmmm. No partisan spin on this yet? Where's that Fern McPherson guy?
  44. Seb D from Ottawa, Canada writes: I have a lot of mojo. Will this cause my doll's head to explode?
  45. Alberto Bayo from Canada writes: Hey Joe...little oil and I love you long time.
  46. My eyes are open, Are yours? from Canada writes: Can you program it to ask me about my day and then actually care about the answer?

    Otherwise, I'll just continue sitting on the washing machine during spin cycle, thankyou very much.
  47. francis mercer from Canada writes: and i thought sister what's her name was a cook book shop to!

    the odd people march on. nail shut the the knot holes and throw away the muscle relaxer the next generation is upon /under/standing/kneeling, us!
  48. Roland Neissinger from Latteville, Canada writes: What if we are a kind of biological robots already, we just don't know it yet....
  49. katie carls from kingston, Canada writes: hahaha ... i just had to laugh at this ... talk about ridiculous ... and also slightly on the distrubing side
  50. Hal Johnson from The Shwigity, Canada writes: Well this is pretty much pure garbage...
  51. J Snow Clone from O-town, Canada writes: When I learned that my true love was actually a fem-bot, and not a real woman, I started to ask myself deep questions. Did I take the escalator instead of the stairs because of nurture or nature? I've always prefered the Ford Mustang to a real horse and buggy. When I realized that I had gladly let banks pimp me out to the ATM instead of a teller, I saw the writing on the wall.
  52. grover station from Hamilton, Canada writes: I'd rather have a robot that cooked my house and cleaned my meals.
  53. P G from Canada writes: The comments about the possibility of this leading to social isolation and extinction reminded me of Isaac Asimov's book "The Naked Sun" ("On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants.")

    Perhaps the Microsoft and Google of 2050 will be "Robosoft" and "Giigle".
  54. Ed Op from Canada writes: Uh, yeah, I don't think so. Fun article, but to see robot technology getting to that point in 50 years is extremely optimistic. Presumably, he's talking about a fully-articulated, walking, talking, soft-skinned, warm-blooded (or at least heated) artificial humanoid automaton that can interact meaningfully with a real person. If that happens there will be bigger uses than sex dolls. How about soldiers, miners, factory workers, fire fighters, police officers, baristas and other occupations that are too dangerous or too boring for humans? Prostitution may be the oldest profession but I bet we'd find other uses for robots long before that one.
  55. Scrooge McDuck from Calgary, Canada writes: Hal...you need to lighten up and visit Catherine Prickett in Ottawa, hmmm, Prickett, now there is an interesting name for someone who sells sex toys.
  56. Bill Needle from Canada writes: The whores and gigolos are gonna picket the production line.
  57. martha stewart from Canada writes: Someone got a PhD for this??? So much for that standard.

    In any case, my girlfriends from Dildo, NFLD tell me this is already happening all the time.
  58. karen l from Canada writes: Oh, right, these must be the same kind of guys who predicted that by 2000 we would all be getting around via our personal jetpacks. Their timing is usually a bit off, if nothing else.
  59. j c from Canada writes: Instead of building robots for hanky panky, why not have them do our chores? More time for humans to enjoy each other's company.
  60. Chrissy Simon from Canada writes: There are hotels in Japan and Korea that rent out sex dolls? Ewww! Isn't that one item you wouldn't want to acquire second-hand?
  61. Scrooge McDuck from Calgary, Canada writes: Karen...isn't guys timing always off? ;)
  62. ALASTAIR JAMES BERRY from nanaimo bc canada, Canada writes: Sweet are the uses of adversity. Get sexual satisfaction and the knowledge that such activity is not adding to the overpopulation of the World. An interesting thought!

    We just need something like this to help reduce the total population of the world to a more sustainable limit if PLANET EARTH is to survive!!

    Sex is one of the most pleasurable occupations in life although some of my more CHUBBY friends insist that the enjoyment of a good meal is far more satisfying.

    There already seems to be some covert internet 'web cam' sexual activity if the stories told by some of my younger acquaintances are to be believed, so I suppose that the 'virtual' worlds' that are presently so popular, could easily integrate some of these sexual surrogate machines.

    HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BUY ONE?? WHEN WILL THEY BE AVAILABLE?? Are they androgyneous??
  63. Reg Anderson from Canada writes: Alberto Bayo from Canada writes: Turn the lights down low, turn on the Kraftwerk tunes...Oooohhhh baby, nice hard-drive...
    ---
    Just too funny!
  64. toby schnauzer from Ottawa, Canada writes: Some of you are sceptical that robotics might develop in this direction, but I would suggest the desire to fill this market niche will probably help develop AI in general and have positive repercussions far beyond the X-rated realm. 30 years ago if someone would have predicted that one of the big markets for videotapes would X-rated films and that everyday would watch them and often have a few stashed in their house, would you have believed them? Would you have believed 15 years that a major force on the internet would be pornographic web sites? In both cases the desire to make money from pornography drove improvements in the technology and adoption of the technology by a wider group of users. I would hail the research described in the article, even if it seems silly right now. This research will quite possibly end up improving interfaces for non-sexual robots who might help the elderly, the disabled and hospital patients by responding to their everyday physiological needs.
  65. Zapp Brannigan from Kingston, Canada writes: No thanks, I'll just keep making out with my Monroe-bot.
  66. Zapp Brannigan from Kingston, Canada writes: The future is here!
    http://www.claytonbailey.com/monrobot.htm
  67. Devil's Advocate from Canada writes: Do the space agencies know about these? Could make those future trips to Mars a little more manageable. You can always shoot them out the airlock if you need to lose weight. What better way for alien races to learn about us than to pick up our discarded sexbots free floating in outer space.

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