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The AI sexbot industry is just getting started. It brings strange new questions – and risks.
(theconversation.com)
this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
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Technology
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The biggest danger with allowing people to do whatever they want to a sex bot is that it has the possibility to encourage dangerous behavior in some people to the point where they are comfortable doing it to a real person. Especially as these bots get more and more life-like, from appearances to LLM conversations. Rape fantasies, abuse, etc, are all on the table when no one is around. Now of course, this is an extreme hypothetical, but there are people out there who are not-right in the head and will do this sort of stuff.
The other part of it is, what's to stop a business selling life-like sex bots of people who never agreed to that, like big celebrities and social media stars? Sex sells and it'll be a reality way before regulations are put in to stop it from happening. And even when a government prohibits it, there's always the black market.
It's not even a matter of IF this will happen. It's a matter of when, and how we will deal with it.
And while I say all this, I DO believe people should have the right to do whatever they want to their property, in the safety and privacy of their own home. I'm not saying people should not be allowed to buy themselves really fancy sex dolls. For some, it can really be the only way to help with one of the most instinctual needs a human has. Especially in the disabled/disfigured communities, having a way to release that sexual frustration improves their mental well-being.
But as technology continues to evolve, we have to take into account so the different forms it takes, both the beneficial and the ugly.
This tired old argument gets trotted out with every new technology and hobby. D&D, Video games, VR, etc etc.
While I agree that there's is always some sort of fear mongering with new tech as you said, I don't think they compare to what we're talking about. D&D is a tabletop game based on a magical world of various races, monsters, demons, etc. It's also obviously just a game.
Video games, especially violent ones that are vilified by the media, are still obviously just games played on a screen. VR is getting closer to "real life", but is still played on a headset, so there is still a divide between in-game and real life.
With sex bots, they are physical things that are made to look and act like real people. That separation between imagination and real-world isn't there anymore. For all intents and purposes, once the bot is on and functional it is as close to a real person as technology can create. Now, this tech is not yet a reality. But I foresee that future in the next few years.
Again, I point you towards video games and how they got blamed for violence. You could have used the same statement about them 20 years ago.