Sex Robots and Being Human

Films about sex robots such as ‘Ex Machina’ and ‘THX 1138’ have certainly piqued public awareness, however many of these films are more worried about what happens when something goes wrong - if your robot is a ruthless emotionless killer — than about the effect that sexbots are having upon humankind.

The appearance of sex robots is welcomed by many people, but, according to Lydia Kaye, who is the Research Director at the UK Campaign Against Sex Robots, they only serve to further objectify women. “Sex robots are an extension of the porn industry which objectifies, violates and de-humanises women. Sex robots are extensions of this de-humanisation.”

Think that all this is just heresy, an exaggeration? Think again. “There is a kind of cliche, sci-fi mystique about it, but there is a real chance that companies which concentrate on AI will produce these machines and mass produce them.” Banning sex robots will become virtually impossible because of vested interests and the fact that there is always a way round the law because of the existence of black markets.

Could sex robots destroy competition during human mating periods because sex, in all forms and varieties, for men and for women can be bought? “Not really, it will not affect sexuality in our society, except that men and women who have sex with roots will begin to regard the men and women that they have [real] sex with in a different way… The line between how people have sex with a robot and a robot will be blurred… That is, women may be more objectified not less, as a result of the appearance of sex robots… There is a danger that hard core porn which is now becoming main stream will become the norm.”, explains Lydia.

There is a fear that sex robots will strip humans of empathy and of real communication. They will infiltrating our societies in a tangible way, which is very dangerous.

Can this be stopped?

Lydia’s point of view is that yes, we can try and legislate, but: “What we can do is to raise awareness… we need to stop and really think about how we can use technology for human good.”

Perhaps sex robots are another sign that we living in a post modernist society, and perhaps it is time to try to return societies to more traditional family-run lines? All of this means that we should reinterpret our understanding of what it means to be human. If we wish to.