What’s so wrong about sexbots? This is a new industry, but it’s growing quickly.
The robots are the best of the best in this field, which is still very new.
There are a lot of different estimates about how much money sex technology makes.
Some of it comes from the pandemic, but also because of big improvements in realism and functionality.
But the academic literature and news coverage often centers on the potential harms of robots like Harmony.
There is a worry that the robots could negatively impact the income and rights of human sex workers.
Some suggest that the robots pose cybersecurity risks in terms of personal data and digital privacy.
Others insist they would be a vehicle for misogyny, and objectification of women.
Angry citizens in Houston, Texas, said that a planned sexbot brothel would “destroy homes, families, finances, and the lives of our neighbors.”
But are any of these actually demonstrable harms, or are the worries about sexbots exaggerated?
With business booming and technology advancing, it’s time to ask: what’s so wrong about sexbots?
Who’s watching the robots who are watching us?
Cybersecurity and ethics are major concerns with any app-based smart home device, or any sex tech, but the stakes are potentially much higher with AI sex doll robots.
Could you lose your job if your boss knew about your robot?
How would your kids feel if they found out?
And what are the governance structures we need to create to manage sexbots ethically as the AI continues to evolve within our society?
Ola Miedzynska, the founder of the conference Sx Tech EU and a tech industry veteran, says that sex tech developers take these new responsibilities very seriously.
She says that sex tech developers have long led other tech fields in best practices.
As she says, “We are dealing with intimacy and data that can make people’s lives a lot less happy.”
When it comes to privacy and accessibility, the sex industry has always been ahead of the game, she says.
And while there is no fully hacker-proof system, discretion is arguably the industry’s most important business asset.
There are a lot of people who say that the robots won’t replace human relationships or human sex any time soon.
But that they can help us mix fantasy into sex and connect with each other in new ways.
A group of researchers at the Foundation for Responsible Robotics has suggested that the dolls could be used to help people who are lonely, especially those who are elderly.
According to this report, though, more research is needed in this area.
If robots could help people with emotional and social problems feel less lonely and happier, “we should think about testing them as a therapeutic tool.”
Ethical questions, regulatory confusion, and cultural misunderstandings abound with sex robots, as with any societally distruptive technology.
Every time sex fads become more common, there will be a moralizing chorus ready to condemn them.
There will also be questions about what the future of technology will mean for our society, and there will always be people who don’t like it.
What’s so wrong about sexbots?
If we don’t like it, robots will be in our lives, no matter what we do.
“Looking at what we’ve made, you can see where we’re going.”
So, maybe it can play chess with you and watch a movie with you. She can now help you fold laundry.
