Android Sex Robots: How will Humans React?

Randomly reading the CBC, the subject again came up. This is a subject that has been in the news in the past, but talked about in hushed tones, sort of like the dark web. Androids, robots in human form, built for sex and possibly companionship, have been physically available for quite a number of years, and have been part of science fiction lore for much longer. If these are of benefit or detriment to humans, has yet to be discovered. I continue my interest in the social implications of technology on our daily lives.

Dr Debra Soh’s The sex robots are coming. Do not fear them in the CBC led me to a study by the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, Our Sexual Future with Robots. A well done study, it draws to attention a lot of psycho-social implications of Android sex robots that we have yet to understand, but has the ability to change the way we view humankind.

Let’s be open here and view this with an unbiased mind. I’ll leave religion out, but keep the rule of law in. The study asks seven specific questions:
Q1. Would people have sex with a robot? Invariably yes, more decisive for men than women.
Q2. What kind of relationship could we have with a sex robot? Can you have an intimate relationship with your robot? Humans readily develop anthropomorphic relationships with inanimate objects, and a sex robot would be no different. The answer is that we do not know the implications. All people are different, there has been no long-term study and we simply do not know.
Q3. Will robot sex workers and bordellos be acceptable? I did not know that in Japan and Europe there are bordellos of Android sex robots today. Its acceptability is unknown, but if their continued operation is any indication, they do have a chance. The possibility of ending prostitution has also yet to be determined. I am doubtful, but again, we really do not know.
Q4. Will sex robots change societal perceptions of gender? Most sex robots are of the female form. Do they encourage the objectification of women? These are complex issues that we have yet to answer. Are they important when speaking about an Android?
Q5. Could intimacy with robots lead to greater social isolation? Will people buy and Android and lock themselves away, leading to further isolation? Or will the robot be used as a therapeutic tool for those that have difficulties making human relationships? Again, we really do not know. There are no empirical studies and it would be unethical to simulate increased isolation of those involved. We really do not know.
Q6. Could robots help with sexual healing and therapy? Robots as a tool for therapy is not new. They have small robotic dogs and seals in Japan for the elderly, so why not an Android. Again, this is very uncharted territory. Androids can possibly add a new dimension to psychological health that was previously unavailable. As to its efficacy as well as morality, we do not know.
Q7. Would sex robots help to reduce sex crimes? We really do not know the implications of this, whether sex crime will increase, decrease or have any effect.

A self confessed Japanese pedophile makes and sells child Android sex robots, and ships them around the world. One was ordered and shipped to Newfoundland, Canada, where it was intercepted by Canada Customs, the customer then charged with various child pornography crimes. Firstly, is ordering this doll illegal? Does it satiate or encourage someone who seeks this? Again, we really do not know.

New technology introduces social implications that we can only initially guess at the outcome. The rejigging of the relationships we have between the sexes, or between partners, cuts right to the core of humanity. What the role of an android sex robot will play is as yet unknown. In the meantime, man continues to make a better android and the march to modernity continues.

Some of my concerns would include if these Androids are web connected. It would give “Hacking and Android” a new meaning. Also, do these Androids save their sensor data and to where? What happens to this data and who can access it? How do software updates happen? You really would be upset if someone changed your Android to not your liking.