It is happening. Sex robots may possibly become a fixture or luxury in peoples' bedrooms. According to a CNN report, Truecompanion.com has unveiled its first female sex robot, Roxxy, at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada last month to great interest. As many as 4000 men have placed pre-orders with another 20,000 requesting for more information about the product. The male counterpart of Roxxy, Rocky (which reminds me of Sylvester Stallone in Rambo) is also expected to make a dent on the women's market.
While the sex robot is unable to move on her own, she can be contorted into different possible human positions. She would also feel like a human. Her skin is made of hypoallergenic silicone which is the type that is being used for prosthetic limbs. Moreover, she would be 'warm', am sensitive to the touch and be able to have an 'orgasm'. The manufacturer also claims that Roxxy is able to listen, converse and mould her personality to the owner. In addition, her mood is also dependent on different times of the day e.g. sleepy. And if that is not life-like enough, she has additional pre-programmed personalities: Frigid Farrah; Wild Wendy; S&M Susan; Young Yoko and Mature Martha. To add to the finishing touch, she can even be 'shared online' with your other mates who have their own Roxxy.
Her debut has provoked outcries and thought-provoking commentaries (not to mention outlandish predictions).
The 'uncanny valley' phenomenon- (the theory that humans feel uncanny upon interaction with robots that appear to look like humans) for example, may motivate companies to design and manufacture robots that either look 'toylike' or 'perfect' so as to remove such conflicting emotions. Others believed that Roxxy is still not a robot (or can only be considered sans robotic) since it cannot perform any functions unless a human initiates one.
An optimist and advocate of such technology is AI expert and author of 'Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships', David Levy who thinks marriage between a robot and his owner may be possible in 50 years time. Imagine the outcry and look of horror on the Pope if he hears of this. In an interview with Scientific American, David argues that 'people will fall in love with a convincing simulation of a human being, and convincing simulations can have a remarkable effect on people.' In another piece by Spiegel, he claims that robots 'will be hugely attractive to humans as companions because of their many talents, senses and capabilities'. The advancement in technology means that robots will be given 'human like traits' and that 'love and sex with robots on a grand scale are inevitable.'
Prior to Roxxy, a European company has already invented another kind of sex robot, Andy (male name but female bot) which comes with different options such as 'a tangible pulse' or 'rotating hip motion'. The Japanese came up with Aiko, though not a sex robot, but a female android that reacts to pain and is able to recognise faces and speech.
If these new robotic technologies are anything as they are promised to be, it is not premature to predict that robots made for personal amusement or consumption will become a daily fixture of our lives. In particular, these inventions also raise disturbing and important questions on the ethics of human-robot relationships.