Many people have commented on the idea that if we develop a convincing sexbot, Neural VR or holodeck technology, humanity is doomed to extinction because we'll stop looking for real mates and population growth will go to zero...

My question to you is: Assuming the 'bot or sim were realistic enough, with true AI and/or sentience...

If you are single - Would you give up on the whole dating scene and pursue a life of happiness with a cybernetic/digital lover?

If you are married - Would you forsee yourself giving up your significant other for the perfect e-Mate who doesn't leave the toilet seat up (F) / nag you to take out the trash (M) etc...?

------

My own answer is "Probably Yes"... To the first one, single and all.

Nope. Cold lifeless answers will never be able to be modified enough to resemble a hyuu-manne. Even if it came remarkabley close I don't think I'd be able to be around something that doesn't think for itself. It's too, boring. Something that always agrees with me, shares all my hobbies to the same extent that I do, is not a good companion. I would prefer someone I can simply relate to, not someone who is me.

I don't date much, but I doubt I would get much fulfillment out of anything virtual. I know it's fake.

Robot sex and holodecks won't replace sex, it'll replace masturbation. You'll just see that the same people going out and having sex will still do so, and the people who stay at home and jerk off will just have a new toy to do it with. And people who want real sex will have something to tide them over when they don't have anything going on. It'll just be a high-tech blowup doll.

Gotta agree with end_boss on this one. I know I wouldn't buy or use one.

Now if there was a sandwich making robot with no other functions, that I would consider.

There is nothing like the real thing :) I think they explained that in Demolition Man haha

Now, for those having trouble getting the real thing, do we really want them reproducing anyways?

Pfft. It's quite a daft thing to think that the human race would voluntarily wipe itself out through 0% procreation.

In any case, by the time we come up with AI and technology advanced enough to mimic human interection, we'll already be in space, exploring new and amazing worlds, then shagging their native population.

In that respect, Torchwood is a window into the future, humping strange, new things in positions that no man has ever tried before.

God bless you, Cpt. Harkness.

Masturbation hasn't wiped us out, why would hot robot sex? Wouldn't be that much of a question for me though, no human female wants to wake up to this face.

i think VR sex will be kinda like drugs today..... if you'd rather play with some VR babe than a real female, then your genes will not and should not be used pollute future generations.

Surggical_Scar:
In that respect, Torchwood is a window into the future, humping strange, new things in positions that no man has ever tried before.

God bless you, Cpt. Harkness.

Do you remember when they said "There's more than one use for a stopwatch" as an innuendo? I can't really think of anything, and I'm not sure I should try. Good show though.

I 'dunno... I did mention sentient AI, not the run-of-the-mill Japanese sex doll with a motor. If she were sentient, I'd believe I could truly love artificial life.

I doubt VR would cause any trouble at all and I don't see robots catching on due to their lifelessness.

If you and your girlfriend could go into VR and take on any form you wanted, it would mean the end of superficial concerns about physical appearance. I'd just make my girlfriend look like Molly Parker or whoever I was randy for. Same goes for her in terms of how I look. This would extend to your wife, lover, random person you met online. Just make them look like your fantasy.

It would be a new, sexier age for all.

But yeah, we'd need tube babies 'Brave New World' style in a flash.

L.B. Jeffries:

But yeah, we'd need tube babies 'Brave New World' style in a flash.

Tube babies would give us an interesting opportunity to genetically modify future generations to suit a specific purpose. Just crank out some VR simulations to distract the losers while the government shifts the demographic towards some specific and highly arbitrary goal. It'd give our society an almost 'bread-and-circus' feel to it, the providers of said VR (be it government or corporation) would keep us content and merry while sustaining our bodies in reality so they don't get in the way.

Further thought about this has led me to conclude that a VR system advanced enough to replicate human emotions would do wonders for the prison system. Think about it, with an alternate reality you've got the best rehabilitation and psychological control device in the world! You can not only scare convicts into conformity a la Clockwork Orange, but you can do it in a fraction of the time compared to present day means.

Khell_Sennet:
Many people have commented on the idea that if we develop a convincing sexbot, Neural VR or holodeck technology, humanity is doomed to extinction because we'll stop looking for real mates and population growth will go to zero...

My question to you is: Assuming the 'bot or sim were realistic enough, with true AI and/or sentience...

If you are single - Would you give up on the whole dating scene and pursue a life of happiness with a cybernetic/digital lover?

If you are married - Would you forsee yourself giving up your significant other for the perfect e-Mate who doesn't leave the toilet seat up (F) / nag you to take out the trash (M) etc...?

------

My own answer is "Probably Yes"... To the first one, single and all.

I am divorced. I can honestly say I am happier as a celibate single than I was having sex with my wife twice a day.... So yes, go Sexbot!

Oops, laptop lagged, double post, but I do feel strongly enough against women that I second my own opinion... I love my girlfriend more than anything though....

If I could have a holodeck fantasy over my girlfriend I would take the turbolift there and never look back. My girl, bless her narcissistic heart, is as fake as they come. Like a lot of people she's obsessed with what or how the world perceives her. It's stifling sometimes to see the lengths she'll go to to impress those around her. A holodeck honey could be custom tailored to whatever I want. Basically she'd be a carbon copy of me-just a girl and hot...and green like those alien chicks Kirk used to poke on the original Trek-series. Robots are dangerous(I don't care what the Three Laws say!). One miscalculation of pneumatic grip pressure and your goodies are on the floor!

If we have sentient AI, it doesn't matter if humanity stops reproducing. At that point we've already produced our last and greatest children - the ones who live in silicon. They would be far better suited to the environment of the universe at large than we are; give them a trickle of power, and they can hibernate forever as they travel between the stars.

But yeah back on topic, I'd expect there to be a rash of divorces and plummeting birth rates if a sentient, realistic e-mate came out. There's tons of people who seem to be in a relationship just so they're not alone; I expect that they would all separate if there was the option of getting a thing that would fit you perfectly. The only relationships that would survive are those that people are in because they actually like their partner, which I would wager are surprisingly few.

iShag. You know Apple's working on it as we speak.

iShag is a great concept j-e-f-f-e-r-s! Very funny indeed and no doubt Steve [hand] Jobs will be sending you an email to discuss the future with you.

Back on topic, a sexbot or holographic sex partner will suit some people as a life partner however I could see many people getting bored with such a thing over time, even perhaps despising it. Think about it for a moment. If you programed your sexbot with all the functions that you love, wouldn't that eventually drive to nuts because its just too perfect?
I think its classic human behaviour to always see the grass over the fence as greener, that being a sexbot would be better than having a flesh & blood partner who can surprise you as well as annoy you with their unpredictable & sometimes endearing idiosyncrasies.
A sexbot or holodeck iShag would just be an improved version of todays blow-up doll.

hahahaha iShag. I just bought the domain name I liked it so much.

Interesting thought... There's comments here about people growing tired of a cybernetic lover, and it being no more than a blow up doll...

If as I mentioned, the bot was sentient or at least super-realistic, that has to account for a lot more than a sexdoll. What blow up doll can make small talk, cook you dinner, give a massage after a long day at work, or simply call you on the phone? Hustler makes a full-size fully cyberskinned sex doll (Don't ask how much). This thing is not your typical thin plastic balloon with a cyberskin snatch, but as real as it can look and feel, it can't speak. It can't move. THAT is something that would grow tiresome.

Khell_Sennet:
Interesting thought... There's comments here about people growing tired of a cybernetic lover, and it being no more than a blow up doll...

If as I mentioned, the bot was sentient or at least super-realistic, that has to account for a lot more than a sexdoll. What blow up doll can make small talk, cook you dinner, give a massage after a long day at work, or simply call you on the phone? Hustler makes a full-size fully cyberskinned sex doll (Don't ask how much). This thing is not your typical thin plastic balloon with a cyberskin snatch, but as real as it can look and feel, it can't speak. It can't move. THAT is something that would grow tiresome.

...and would be creepy as hell.

Khell_Sennet:
Interesting thought... There's comments here about people growing tired of a cybernetic lover, and it being no more than a blow up doll...

If as I mentioned, the bot was sentient or at least super-realistic, that has to account for a lot more than a sexdoll. What blow up doll can make small talk, cook you dinner, give a massage after a long day at work, or simply call you on the phone? Hustler makes a full-size fully cyberskinned sex doll (Don't ask how much). This thing is not your typical thin plastic balloon with a cyberskin snatch, but as real as it can look and feel, it can't speak. It can't move. THAT is something that would grow tiresome.

There's the Uncanny Valley effect to consider. I might not fit the standards of a "normal" person, and am therefore a bad example case, but if the theory is correct, it would not be incorrect to say that humanity has an inbuilt defensive mechanism to combat this particular form of extinction.

- J

Tell me something. Upon seeing the title of this thread, I was surprised. When my eyes slid over to who had founded such a thread, my surprise evaporated. Why might that be Khell?

And I'd say no. I'm bit too much of a hopeless romantic to go for anything that isn't alive I'm afraid.

Steve Handjobs. I lol'd.

Anyways, to contribute something of slightly more value... Have you not seen Austin Powers 2? What if one day my fembot decided to kill me using her super machine strength? What if she caught a virus and decided I needed 'rebooting'? I think I'll stick with my lovely bosomy meatbags, thank you verrah much.

If ur gonna make a sexbot, for goodness sake dont allow it to reach a sentient state. If all the sexbots suddenly realise the immense power they have, itl take less than a generation for humanity to be doomed :-)

As to the question, no I dont think i could. I watched a decumentry on sex dolls (as you do) & on seeing both the kind of ppl who own them & how emotionally attached they can get to what is essentially an expensive mannequin (it was on channel 5 if u need an explination on what channel would air such a programme), I dont think I could live with myself becoming that.

I hope humanity never comes to that...horrible.

[quote=[HD]Rob Inglis]I hope humanity never comes to that...horrible.[/quote]

The disturbing part is that I can see humanity coming to it. The sex industry already plays to this custom fantasy thing. With divorces on the rise and new marriages declining, I can see a potential market for this.

Well, I don't think it would cause humanity to go extinct. There would still be many people out there that would want to have children. But it would change the dating scene, and population growth.

Even if the sex-bots were incredibly realistic and sentient, some people would have a hard time getting over the fact they're still computers, and you wouldn't be able to get magnets anywhere near them.

An interesting question to ask is this:
"would an AI be capable of love?" Sure you could program it with all the responses that a human would have but would it be capable of developing emotions beyond its programing?
Aside an aside, I've been following the new Terminator TV series and can sort of guess as to where it's heading with the relationship between the girl terminator and John Connor [isn't Summer Glau so gorgeous? :P ] and my bet is that John & Cameron? are fated to be with each other. The reason I've come to this conclusion is from Terminator2 where Sarah Connor observed that the Arnie terminator would make the perfect father for John therefore the Summer Glau Terminator will make the perfect "wife/lover" for John. And what sort of bloke would say no to a Summer Glau lovebot anyway? ;)
Seriously though, if AI is capable of learning & growing beyond its initial program, it'd be fascinating to see if it would develop emotional responses.

Hold on a sec... What's this about a Terminator series, and who the f**k is touching my dear Summer?

Khell_Sennet:
Hold on a sec... What's this about a Terminator series, and who the f**k is touching my dear Summer?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851851/

There's your first clue

GODS DAMNIT Thomas Dekker, you keep your hands off my Texas sweetheart!

now where would the fun in dating be without the violent moodswings, arguments and the constant void in knowledge between safety and the possibilty that she will not like the present you have bought her and instead have made an unkowing crack at her non exixtent girth.

answer is we like the unpredictability of humanity, therefore robo sex is reserved for old dudes who need to 'take thier time' and young dudes who, well, like mech anime.