The End Of Prostitution As We Know it?
If I were a prostitute, I'd be worried! I might start thinking hard about moving into another line of work. According to this article, in as little as 5 years, with the rapid advancements in robot technology we've seen in recent years, we could have life-like robots built solely for sex.
The robot will apparently not only feel human, but will also come with built-in sounds that respond on touch and feel - moaning, groaning, and possibly yelling out curse words!
The robots will be labeled as "sex toys" so there'd be nothing illegal about them, and you'd be able to march right into your local adult products boutique, pick one up for a yet to be determined price, take him/her home, start them up and have your way with them, and it'll feel just like the real thing!
I'm sure they'll be available for sale online as well, for those concerned with privacy - you wouldn't want to be caught carrying your life-size android trollop on the subway after all, right?
But wait - it gets better folks! The article further states that in another 40 years, romantic human-robot relationships will become a reality! We're talking about real loving relationships between man and robot, since robots will have "personality and consciousness" by then.
One scientist's justification for this: "There are many millions of people in the world who have nobody. They might be shy or they might have some psychological hang-ups or psycho-sexual hang-ups, they might have personality problems, they might be ugly... There will always be many millions of people who cannot make normal satisfactory relationships with humans, and for them the choice is not: 'would I prefer a relationship with a human or would I prefer a relationship with a robot?' -- the choice is no relationship at all or a relationship with a robot."
I see... I see... but (just my suggestion of course) shouldn't we maybe consider putting all the millions of dollars going into funding this kind of robot research, into getting to the root of and helping those millions of people who have psychological or psycho-sexual hang-ups? Robot love shouldn't be a solution! Sheesh! I fear what this world is going to look and feel like in another 50 years, the length of my lifetime, and even after I'm gone - 100, 200, 300 years! There'll be even more isolation, less human contact, and more human to technology symbiosis... a rather cold world... we'll have people who relate more readily to their digital components than to other humans. It's already happening, and it's amazing just how quickly we adapt and become comfortable with each new development.
It's a difficult fight, because I champion advancements in technology. Much has been gained from this kind of research. We're a curious people, so it's only natural that we are constantly challenging nature, building upon what we already know, always chasing what we don't know. We have this bottomless thirst to know and conquer the unknown. But there's always a price to be paid, and I guess in time, we'll decide whether that price is worth it all. Although it might be a little too late by the time that happens.
Until then, as I started off saying, prostitutes beware! Shit is about to get real - starting in about 5 years! That actually would be an interesting trend to observe... whether we see a drop in rates of prostitution as these life-like robot sex toys are introduced, and become even more human-like over time, which you can guarantee will happen. So, we'll be potentially eliminating one problem (prostitution) but creating a new, or feeding an already existing one (more sociopaths and psychopaths).
You can read the article HERE.
A decline in prostitution would most def be a good thing. I'm sure rates of HIV and STD's would plummet as well.
Hmmmm they think it's a good idea to give someone who has trouble with human to human relationships a robot to screw. I see android sex addict group therapy sessions in the future...not to mention support groups for people in relationships with said addicts. This adds a whole new dimension to the idea of cheating. Does it count if your tart on the side isn't human? LOL. Not to mention the effect it may have on the whole down low phenomenon. A man can have his wife and an android boy toy on the side...Gulp! :oP
What will they think of next?
- P
"This adds a whole new dimension to the idea of cheating. Does it count if your tart on the side isn't human? LOL. Not to mention the effect it may have on the whole down low phenomenon. A man can have his wife and an android boy toy on the side"
Haha! I didn't even think of any of that. What's going on in that mind of yours P? But yeah, this could get really interesting when we welcome in the era of "Robot Love!" I'm suddenly thinking of that Roger song from years ago, "Computer Love!" Maybe he knew something that the rest of us didn't at the time :-O
Brrahahahaha! This is kinda silly, but I can see how it would be an attractive option, unfortunately. You're right though. It's anyone's guess where this is all leading to and I, for one, aren't optimistic. What happens when machines become self-aware, since that's what they're shooting for? It might sound silly now, but we might want to take heed of movies like The Matrix and others.
Prostitution won't die out, it'll just go high class and/or underground.
I'm sure these sex-bots will be prohibitively expensive for most to start with but they'll eventually become more and more affordable, just like the everyday electronics we all take forgranted at present... TV, DVD players, mobile phones, even games consoles.
One day in the not too distant future, Lars and the Real Girl won't seem like a freakish, voyeuristic movie - it'll seem lame and quaintly arcane.
The working masses won't be encouraged to have interpersonal relationships, especially sexual ones, as they'll interfere with industrial production and economic growth.
New working class people will be farmed or mass produced in labs and humans trying to get it on with other humans will risk a run-in with the law.
So no, not the end of prostitution at all - it'll go upmarket and/or underground and will, therefore, be more lucrative for those practitioners involved...
Hmm... I think Arthur C. Clarke would be proud of me!