Are robots the sex partners of the future?

bhkad · #1 (**permalink**) 02-12-2008, 11:44 PM

Hardwired for love: Are robots the sex partners of the future?
Feb 12 09:45 AM US/Eastern

Quote:

In the mood for a little skin-to-skin?" coos a lover slipping between the sheets.

"Not tonight," mumbles the partner, turning around. "Just make it with the robot, if you want."

A kinky sci-fi fantasy? Love and lust in the 23rd century?

Not at all, says David Levy, a PhD in gender studies and artificial intelligence and author of "Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relations".

By mid-century, predicts the 62-year-old expert, getting it on with an electronic femme-fatale or a superstud sexbot will become an accepted part of the human landscape.

Hardwired for love: Are robots the sex partners of the future?

At some point the question begins to be asked, "why would some folks need a real human partner AT ALL if a robot was 100% compliant and 0% demanding?"

saltwn · #2 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhkad

Hardwired for love: Are robots the sex partners of the future?
Feb 12 09:45 AM US/Eastern

Hardwired for love: Are robots the sex partners of the future?

At some point the question begins to be asked, "why would some folks need a real human partner AT ALL if a robot was 100% compliant and 0% demanding?"

In answer to your question. Yes.
What I think would totally change society in that respect (and I'm surprised if they're not doing this already) is virtual goggles so you can make your own partner look like your favorite celebrity hotty.

cnredd · #3 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhkad

At some point the question begins to be asked, "why would some folks need a real human partner AT ALL if a robot was 100% compliant and 0% demanding?"

Somebody needs to do the dishes...

Spencer Collins · #4 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 04:01 AM

YouTube - Hopelessly Devoted to you - Olivia...

Ain't nothin like the real thing baby!

Love ya Livi,always have....

lackluster · #5 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spencer Collins

YouTube - Hopelessly Devoted to you - Olivia Newton John
Ain't nothin like the real thing baby!

Love ya Livi,always have....

You are a subtle subtle man, Spencer Collins.

Yes, we should all consider the possibility that the technology in question has existed for at least two decades, now.

and they they can sing, too.

Spencer Collins · #6 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lackluster

You are a subtle subtle man, Spencer Collins.

Yes, we should all consider the possibility that the technology in question has existed for at least two decades, now.

and they they can sing, too.

I'm always willing to be part of the robot sex partner experimental team..

I support the try it before you buy it motto..

I want to try the Olivia Newton-John model first...

fxashun · #7 (**permalink**) 02-15-2008, 11:01 AM

The human future is getting cloudier and cloudier as the time passes. Three parent babies and cross species IVF, not to mention cross species production of sperm and eggs, maybe science will select sex right out of our DNA when it becomes unnecessary.

forester814 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-16-2008, 03:13 PM

Hmm. Would this help out with the overpopulation problem? Probably not. Only the richest people will have access to this, and they are reproducing at a slower rate than everyone else.

Interesting reading, though.

bhkad · #9 (**permalink**) 02-16-2008, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by forester814

Hmm. Would this help out with the overpopulation problem? Probably not. Only the richest people will have access to this, and they are reproducing at a slower rate than everyone else.

Interesting reading, though.

Speaking of reproductive rates here's something about Russian reproduction worries.

Quote:

Muslim birthrate worries Russia
by Edmund Jenks | November 21, 2006 at 08:33 am

MOSCOW -- Low domestic birthrates and rising immigration from the former Soviet republics are producing explosive growth in Russia's Muslim community, which is on a track to account for more than half the population by midcentury.

"Russia is going through a religious transformation that will be of even greater consequence for the international community than the collapse of the Soviet Union," said Paul Goble, a specialist on Islam in Russia and research associate at the University of Tartu in Estonia.

Two decades ago, the Sobornaya Mosque was the only Islamic house of worship allowed in the Soviet Union. It stood largely empty, filling only with the occasional large foreign delegation from an Islamic country.

Today, it is one of four mosques in Moscow serving a Muslim population of about 2.5 million. On Fridays and holy days, it overflows with worshippers, leaving many to kneel on newspapers outside, their foreheads pressed against the concrete.

As in many countries with growing Islamic populations, tensions are also on the rise. Many ethnic Russians fear their country is losing its traditional identity, while many Muslims are offended by widespread discrimination and a lack of respect for their faith.

Russia's Muslim community is extremely diverse, including Volga Tatars, the myriad ethnicities of the North Caucasus and newly arrived immigrants from Central Asia. But they all share birthrates that are far higher than Russia's ethnic Slavs, most of whom are Orthodox Christians.

Russia's overall population is dropping at a rate of 700,000 people a year, largely because of the short life spans and low birthrates of ethnic Russians. According to the CIA World Factbook, the national fertility rate is 1.28 children per woman, far below what is needed to maintain the country's population of nearly 143 million. The rate in Moscow is even lower, at 1.1 children per woman.

Russia's Muslims, however, are bucking that trend. The fertility rate for Tatars living in Moscow is six children per woman, Mr. Goble said, while the Chechen and Ingush communities are averaging 10 children per woman. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Muslims from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have been flocking to Russia in search of work.

Muslim birthrate worries Russia | The News is NowPublic.com

forester814 · #10 (**permalink**) 02-17-2008, 08:56 AM

Speaking of Russian birth rates, I remember hearing something on the news not too long ago about a new holiday in Russia called Conception Day.

The government gave people a paid day off work to stay home and get pregnant, because of worries over the declining birth rates there, as you mention above.

Let me see if I can find something about that...

ABC News: Russia: Make Love, Have Baby, Get Money
Russia marks Day of Conception - Russia - MSNBC.com

There does seem to be a trend, and I don't have actual data for this, that says, the wealthier and more educated you are, the fewer children you are likely to have.

This is obviously pretty dangerous for the long-term prospects of any society.

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