Sex with robots is unethical, researcher claims

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DucatiMonster696

Diamond Member
Aug 13, 2009
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These researchers are actually guilty of mixing their messages. On the one hand, when (not if) sentient computer systems are created, I agree with them that there will be significant ethical considerations that will need to be worked out.

But the other theory being proposed is that if sex robots become too realistic, that will cause increased objectification of real women (or maybe both sexes). But I can argue the opposite point: When men can use easily use sex robots to fully satisfy their sexual desires, real women will become LESS objectified, as they will be less associated with sexual gratification.


LESS objectified or less desired able once the initial taboo wears out?

Then again I'm pretty sure we are decades if not centuries away from ever reaching the AI you see in sci-fi shows. Hell we still have huge gaps of knowledge as to how our own brains work and how exactly human consciousness and thus sentience works and evolves in the human mind from conception to birth and throughout our life in relation to the mechanisms of our own brains.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/how.html
 
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Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
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when (not if) sentient computer systems are created, I agree with them that there will be significant ethical considerations that will need to be worked out.
Afaic, the only "ethical" consideration that will be involved in that situation is whether the relationship, such as it will be, is consensual...
 
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Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
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LESS objectified or less desired able once the initial taboo wears out?
Possibly less "desirable" to those who see their gender-of-attraction (assuming there will be anatomically male sex-bots as well) primarily, if not solely, as a a source of sexual gratification. Which highlights a number of "ethical" considerations that prevail in human societies as they currently exist...
 

Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
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In fact dogs are one of the few species of animals that benefit more from their relationship with humans than humans benefit from their relationship with them.
That really depends on how one defines "benefits", doesn't it? Most currently existing dogs wouldn't exist at all but for human intervention, which intervention was not performed for the animals' benefit, but for humanity's... Left to its own devices, presumably whatever dogs existed would do just fine without humans, just as the few wild dogs that have managed to survive human encroachment, like their feline (distant) cousins, seem to survive well enough on their own...
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
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Afaic, the only "ethical" consideration that will be involved in that situation is whether the relationship, such as it will be, is consensual...

But what if the machines think like so many in this thread. Why would they want to have sex with inferior humans when they can have sex with other perfect machines?
 

WelshBloke

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
33,033
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How cums no ones deposited this here yet?

Xnnkmzy.jpg
 

blankslate

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2008
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I'm shocked that no one is taking this person to task for saying Anne Romney is an unethical person....


....
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
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jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
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Who continues breeding when all the misfits busy themselves with sexbots?

The beautiful and the poor. That will go well.
 

Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
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Can you stick a device to some access point and read out it's next action? = no free will.
Hmmm. I've known a few biological humans that applies to...:\ Well, strictly speaking, not by sticking them in an access point, but certainly by a very large number of reliably repeated/repeatable "real world tests"...
 
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jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
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Do sperm banks actually help care for the child after it's born, or pay the bills for said child for 18+ years?

Is that required? Last I checked, it is not.

You're thinking in the past, not imagining the future.
 
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Darwin333

Lifer
Dec 11, 2006
19,946
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I could maybe see how you could apply the term "Pet keeping" to cats since they can often be very aloof and independent but most breeds of dogs would absolutely not survive without humans.

In fact dogs are one of the few species of animals that benefit more from their relationship with humans than humans benefit from their relationship with them.

If you think about everything a pet dog receives in exchange for their companionship (food, shelter, safety, medical care, etc) they greater share of benefits from being owned by humans (decent ones at least).

However you could probably point out how working dogs maybe put out enough benefits toward humans to level that playing field but outside of work dogs most dogs kept as pets have it pretty damn easy.

Most animals, regardless of the type, that are born and raised in captivity can't survive on their own. With that said, during Katrina a lot of people left their large dogs behind because most hotels won't let you bring them and they didn't have a backup plan. It didn't take them long to revert back to pack animals and in certain places that were abandoned for months they hunted and survived. There was a big outrage around here because certain sheriff departments went around and killed them en masse. It was a hard call to make, the SPCA was non-existent and a pack of essentially wild and hungry dogs are not afraid of humans.

The guy I bought my German Shepard from trains all the working dogs in the area and I used to bring my dog over when he was training (more for fun for both of us than to train my GSD). One of the exercises was a guy in a bite suit pointed a gun at me, the dog didn't react. The man then pointed the gun at the dogs owner. Without being told a thing the dog recognized the threat to his owner and immediately took the threat down. It also involved the dog seeing the threat and going after it but then the owner told him to stop and he immediately did despite the threat still being there. My point is, animals are a hell of a lot smarter than most of us give them credit for.
 

MagickMan

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2008
7,460
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Is that required? Last I checked, it is not.

You're thinking in the past, not imagining the future.

Yes, it's required that you care for a child after it's born and few women want to do that all on their own, and while they could find a female spouse to handle the burden, relatively few women are that sexually attracted to other women.
 

jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
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Yes, it's required that you care for a child after it's born and few women want to do that all on their own, and while they could find a female spouse to handle the burden, relatively few women are that sexually attracted to other women.

You are way beyond 90 degrees.

EDIT: Also, if sex-bots are handling all people's sexual cravings, then what does it matter if women are sexually attracted to other women? They could still pair up as friends and co-mothers to raise children without men.

The whole premise here is new paradigms become viable.
 
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Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
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I see, sex robots will lessen the power between a woman's legs.

This is the real truth. Realistic robots will cause an increasing number of men to "drop out" of the dating market. This will cause the value of the remaining men to increase, and the choices & power for women to decrease. These robots will be met with labels of "creepy" and "for losers," but that won't hurt their popularity. Birth rates and marriage rates will continue to fall.

I wonder about the economic ramifications of a world where a man can get the "perfect girl" for a one time purchase price of $10,000 or so. What drives him to be economically productive beyond that point?
 

jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
11,679
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This is the real truth. Realistic robots will cause an increasing number of men to "drop out" of the dating market. This will cause the value of the remaining men to increase, and the choices & power for women to decrease. These robots will be met with labels of "creepy" and "for losers," but that won't hurt their popularity. Birth rates and marriage rates will continue to fall.

I wonder about the economic ramifications of a world where a man can get the "perfect girl" for a one time purchase price of $10,000 or so. What drives him to be economically productive beyond that point?

And no one in the market targets the other 50% of the population with a satisfying sex-bot for women... why?
 

Phanuel

Platinum Member
Apr 25, 2008
2,304
2
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And no one in the market targets the other 50% of the population with a satisfying sex-bot for women... why?

Why would women pay for sex though even with the less desireable 50% of the male population dropping out of the market they're most likely not participating in in the first place?

For men, it's a solution to a problem that exists.

For women, it's a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Women already consider over 80% of the male population below average.

They'll make relationship/cuddle/listen to me robots for that

Why bother? Most women already have a waiting stable of suitors for just that very purpose.

Again, what incentive is there for a woman to pay for something she can readily acquire for free or with a monetary incentive in her favor?