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sEx machina: Call to ban sex-bots

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T

Terrell

Member
Nealand Liquor said:
I don't know dude. We've had vibrators and fleshlights for a long time now and things seem better than they ever have been between the sexes (in western culture).
This seems more along the lines of rock n roll being devils music and video games breed violence type outrage.
I prefer to think of the good this can bring people. Companionship for the lonely, for the disabled (a much forgotten demographic in terms of sex). I don't see the harm... Well until the full self awareness and sentience level AI is reached.
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Correlation =/= causation

There were a shitload more factors in the improvement of the situation between the sexes. Like, oh, I dunno, the hard-won work done by people in equal rights movements over the past 200 years, perhaps?

Just throwing that out there.
 
C

Condom

Member
Terrell said:
I stand close enough to the robot ethicist's point to be comfortable with what is being said.

There's already more than enough commoditization of sex and treating ACTUAL people as objects that this seems like the next logical step only if we refuse to acknowledge that both of those previously mentioned things are unhealthy societal problems.

Sex robots is essentially giving the insane meth addict an option for a lifetime supply instead of giving them the truly obvious help they need.

It perpetuates the problem instead of solving it.
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Man let me just have my sexbots and leave me alone. Why can't we have nice things...
 
P

patapuf

Member
Terrell said:
Sex hurts nobody? Doesn't effect people's health? Doesn't lead to crime? Statistics regarding domestic abuse, rape, child abuse and sexually-transmitted infection rates seem to indicate something quite to the contrary. Just throwing that out there that sex isn't quite the harmless desire you're making it out to be. Just like some meth heads can be reasonably decent human beings, some can't, and the same applies to how people think about, engage in and treat sex.

The real human sex trade wouldn't disappear because of sex bots, it would likely increase as people get bored with their "toys", want the "real deal" and either force themselves on an unwilling partner in mild to severe degrees of aggression, which falls under the violent crime aspect that you seem to believe would disappear, or... you guessed it, throw money into the human sex trade.

Further commoditization of sex, as I said, perpetuates instead of solves the problems.
Click to expand...

masturbation aids have been a thing for centuries, as have various versions of sex dolls.

It's a really big stretch to say that existence of more mechanical sex toys will increase sex-trade.

Terrell said:
Correlation =/= causation

There were a shitload more factors in the improvement of the situation between the sexes. Like, oh, I dunno, the hard-won work done by people in equal rights movements over the past 200 years, perhaps?

Just throwing that out there.
Click to expand...

And you think that suddenly won't mean anything anymore because your dildo is more sophisticated?
 
T

Terrell

Member
patapuf said:
masturbation aids have been a thing for centuries, as have various versions of sex dolls.

It's a really big stretch to say that existence of more mechanical sex toys will increase sex-trade.
Click to expand...

The sex trade has dramatically increased over said centuries. It makes more money now than it ever has in its history, in a way that is not correlated to the population increase.

Nerfgun said:
come on. this is a crazy leap and borderline offensive.

sex bots will not lead to rape.
Click to expand...
They don't exactly stop it, either.

But if you think that a humanoid sex machine with no capacity to say "no" can't possibly cause people to disregard consent even a little bit more than they do already? I don't know what to tell you, man. You're not wrong, but that doesn't automatically make your opinion right, either. I'd be more willing to side with the scientific studies that suggest to the contrary.
 
B

BobbyRobby

Member
I think sex robots and VR will be good for society. It will satiate the needs of people unable to secure a sexual partner. That's good.

I don't agree with a ban at all.
 
Nealand Liquor

Nealand Liquor

Member
Terrell said:
Correlation =/= causation

There were a shitload more factors in the improvement of the situation between the sexes. Like, oh, I dunno, the hard-won work done by people in equal rights movements over the past 200 years, perhaps?

Just throwing that out there.
Click to expand...

Oh and sexbots will suddenly and completely undo all of that?

Just throwing that out there.
 
U

User 100115

Banned
akira28 said:
Well it seems like he's implying that these robots will somehow denigrate women, reinforcing stereotypes that they are just sex objects. when the woman has been removed from the equation and instead, replaced with a sex object.

edit: oh, she. Dr. Kathleen Richardson. oh come on.
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If that were the case, we should ban all porn, all video games with women in them, all sex toys...

I mean, my vibrator, it might like, make me think of men as sex objects! Or something.

I'm super sex posistive, and yeah, society has a problem with viewing women as sex objects, but robots for sex is just like, more life like sexual aids, and that's not a bad thing.

I highly doubt access to sex robots will cause men to think of actual women as sex robots.

It might actually lead to better sexual relations, since robots aren't actually people and all.

(I'm still a bit loopy from surgery, let me know if I'm not making sense and I'll shut up)
 
T

Terrell

Member
Nealand Liquor said:
Oh and sexbots will suddenly and completely undo all of that?

Just throwing that out there.
Click to expand...

I was just stating that your assumption that social progress of the sexes was attributed to better and more prevalent self-sexual aids wasn't valid and the result of actual diligent hard work by actual people trying to undo the damage we as a society have done.

You were the one that made the leap that sexbots would completely undermine such things, not me.
 
P

phaonaut

Member
Terrell said:
Sex hurts nobody? Doesn't effect people's health? Doesn't lead to crime? Statistics regarding domestic abuse, rape, child abuse and sexually-transmitted infection rates seem to indicate something quite to the contrary. Just throwing that out there that sex isn't quite the harmless desire you're making it out to be. Just like some meth heads can be reasonably decent human beings, some can't, and the same applies to how people think about, engage in and treat sex.

The real human sex trade wouldn't disappear because of sex bots, it would likely increase as people get bored with their "toys", want the "real deal" and either force themselves on an unwilling partner in mild to severe degrees of aggression, which falls under the violent crime aspect that you seem to believe would disappear, or... you guessed it, throw money into the human sex trade.

Further commoditization of sex, as I said, perpetuates instead of solves the problems.
Click to expand...

I have cousin that is super religious, these were basically his thoughts on sex before marriage. Basically a road of evil.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Terrell said:
The real human sex trade wouldn't disappear because of sex bots, it would likely increase as people get bored with their "toys", want the "real deal" and either force themselves on an unwilling partner in mild to severe degrees of aggression, which falls under the violent crime aspect that you seem to believe would disappear, or... you guessed it, throw money into the human sex trade.

Further commoditization of sex, as I said, perpetuates instead of solves the problems.
Click to expand...

No evidence of this. No evidence of adding a sex-based industry leading to more crime either. No evidence of any of this. Just conjecture and fear.

I have no stake in a robo-sex industry and would not use it. But I see no reason why robot-sex toys would lead to an increase in anything but more lonely people reaching orgasm.
 
J

jiiikoo

Banned
Terrell said:
But if you think that a humanoid sex machine with no capacity to say "no" can't possibly cause people to disregard consent even a little bit more than they do already? I don't know what to tell you, man. You're not wrong, but that doesn't automatically make your opinion right, either. I'd be more willing to side with the scientific studies that suggest to the contrary.
Click to expand...

What studies have indicated this?
 
A

akira28

Member
Fiction said:
If that were the case, we should ban all porn, all video games with women in them, all sex toys...

I mean, my vibrator, it might like, make me think of men as sex objects! Or something.

I'm super sex posistive, and yeah, society has a problem with viewing women as sex objects, but robots for sex is just like, more life like sexual aids, and that's not a bad thing.

I highly doubt access to sex robots will cause men to think of actual women as sex robots.

It might actually lead to better sexual relations, since robots aren't actually people and all.

(I'm still a bit loopy from surgery, let me know if I'm not making sense and I'll shut up)
Click to expand...

no I'm with you. I think Dr Richardson should have said "there may be some future concerns about how these things intergrate with and affect society, but its obviously too soon to tell. It bears some watching though, and we will definitely stay tuned. Sex bots, is this the future or something?" and then I'd be on her side. instead, she sounds like a scare-monger. 'Sexbots are going to bring the fall of civilization, men will never want to breed with women again', it's an old trope, sometimes even told as a joke, and here she is waving it around like a flag with no data or support.
 
B

Banana Aeon

Member
Fiction said:
(I'm still a bit loopy from surgery, let me know if I'm not making sense and I'll shut up)
Click to expand...

No way. In fact, you make too much sense.

Masturbation aids have been a thing for centuries. This is just yet another, albeit more expense and harder to fit in your bedside dresser.
 
W

Westlo

Member
Nealand Liquor said:
So where do you stand?
Click to expand...

camby.png
 
C

CadetMahoney

Member
pants said:
I dont like thing, lets ban it. Nope, fuck off mate.
Click to expand...

In coutries like the UK, if it's something sexual just say "think of the children" and people will accept any ban.

Just say pedos are using children-sex-bots and introduce draconian new laws that affect everything so much it would be a soft-ban.
 
Nealand Liquor

Nealand Liquor

Member
Terrell said:
The sex trade has dramatically increased over said centuries. It makes more money now than it ever has in its history, in a way that is not correlated to the population increase.


They don't exactly stop it, either.

But if you think that a humanoid sex machine with no capacity to say "no" can't possibly cause people to disregard consent even a little bit more than they do already? I don't know what to tell you, man. You're not wrong, but that doesn't automatically make your opinion right, either. I'd be more willing to side with the scientific studies that suggest to the contrary.
Click to expand...

What scientific studies are you talking about?
I have yet to see any study that correlates masturbation, manually or mechanically, to an increase in rape. I certainly haven't seen any studies showing a yet to be invented sexbot having any measurable effect on society, outside of message boards.

Terrell said:
I was just stating that your assumption that social progress of the sexes was attributed to better and more prevalent self-sexual aids wasn't valid and the result of actual diligent hard work by actual people trying to undo the damage we as a society have done.

You were the one that made the leap that sexbots would completely undermine such things, not me.
Click to expand...

Ummmm what?
Dude you need to reread your posts and my replies because you're straight making shit up now. Lol, hell.

I said "we have vibrators and fleshlights and things haven't been better..." in response to your notion sextoys somehow leads to degenerate behavior.

Ok I'm out. You're switching up the narrative here and I am not going to play into that.
 
A

akira28

Member
https://campaignagainstsexrobots.wo...ostitution-and-the-development-of-sex-robots/

By campaigning against sex robots, we will also promote a discussion about the ethics of gender and sex in robotics and help to draw attention to the serious issues faced by those in prostitution.
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her paper has issues for me early on because she believes this idea that people don't see prostitutes or sex workers as human beings, but as things. She goes in to the whole sex trafficking thing and says that prostitution is void of consent and always a negative, pointing out the new coining of the term sex-work, but seemingly not agreeing with it at all, she transfers all of this over to sex bots.

to her sexbots are the new prostitutes and their normalization will ruin the way people see, treat, and deal with women. its really pessimistic, and as far as I'm concerned, full of her own biases. But she's the robo-ethicist, and its her job to ask the questions, even if her answers are completely terrible.

textbook prudishness if you ask me. prostitutes are all sex trafficked victims, sex bot owners are all objectifiers of women, and sexbots degrade the value of women. campaigning against sex bots helps fix all of these issues. the end.

edit: oh yeah, the ethics of fucking sex, and fcucking gender, in robotics? what the fuck?
 
S

stilgar

Member
I looks like a religious sermon. It is as bigoted as one, with the same taboos and accusations of depravation.

Ridiculous.
 
T

takriel

Member
Nealand Liquor said:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34118482

So other than a "robot ethicist" being a "thing" (I mean I guess so? Just sounds weird), this is kinda strange to me. Being married with kids a sexbot isn't exactly a thing I could get away with, but I don't think banning them is the answer for all the lonely people in the world.
Sure once the AI becomes self aware and sentient I see owning high level AI equal to that of slavery and that will need to be addressed. Though that is somewhat measurable but we're nowhere near that level yet.

So where do you stand?
Click to expand...

Oh trust me, a sexbot will be the least of your concerns.
 
K

Kenai

Member
Sex robots are going to be one of the primary forces pioneering the industry and making it mass marketable. This dude is kidding himself.
 
T

Terrell

Member
jiiikoo said:
What studies have indicated this?
Click to expand...

http://www.psychologicalscience.org.../december-14/blurred-concepts-of-consent.html

Sexual assaults on college campuses — a social ill that is now the target of a White House prevention initiative — reflect what research has shown to be an all-too-pliable perception of consensual relations.
Click to expand...

But further study uncovered a more troubling gender gap in communication. In a survey study involving more than 680 mostly heterosexual university students, the researchers found that men scored far higher on measures of belief in rape myths and in the notion that women tend to put up only token resistance to sexual overtures.
Click to expand...

Here, in an era where the only humanoid being or thing that 99% of the population has had sex with is a person, consent is already poorly understood.

Then there's the Hansen & Hansen study of 1988, under the absurd title "How rock music videos can change what is seen when boy meets girl", that shows how media influences opinions on sexual consent and sexual aggression, to name a single one of many.

So if prolonged exposure to media, a mere visual simulation that you don't physically engage in, can warp or distort perceptions of consent, how exactly do you think a physical simulation from a humanoid robot that can't say no would somehow not prove to have a similar effect?

I'm curious regarding what you would consider to be the rationale in whatever answer you provide.
 
T

Terrell

Member
Nealand Liquor said:
Ummmm what?
Dude you need to reread your posts and my replies because you're straight making shit up now. Lol, hell.

I said "we have vibrators and fleshlights and things haven't been better..." in response to your notion sextoys somehow leads to degenerate behavior.

Ok I'm out. You're switching up the narrative here and I am not going to play into that.
Click to expand...

No, you said "We've had vibrators and fleshlights for a long time now and things seem better than they ever have been between the sexes (in western culture)."

I quoted and bolded the sentence, you clearly made a statement that you're now saying never happened.

So I'm sorry, but perhaps you need to re-read what you actually wrote instead of calling someone out for misunderstanding what could clearly be a typo you yourself made.

I have made nothing up, it's clearly written. But please, feel free to climb up on your high horse and denigrate me some more for what seems to be no reason, if it makes you feel better.
 
A

akira28

Member
I'm sure if people were raised in caves with nothing but shadows and sex bots, they might have some problems understanding the concept of consent. But socialized human beings not living in some indirectly lit cave would have other sources of social training and wouldn't just hump some poor woman's leg because they don't know any better.

I've seen rock music videos before, and I haven't had any problems understanding that no means no.
 
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