Cyber Sex, The Real thing

When I got in this evening the BBC news was running a story about the US military developing mechanical exoskeletons for soldiers to aid their strength and endurance, and ultimately to allow them to carry more armour and weapons. One assumes that eventually the aim would be to remove the human altogether and replace it with AI and create an autonomous mechanical warrior to fight wars without human casualties, at least on the side that could produce enough mechanical combatants …

Anyway they have spent $10 million on the project so far. It reminded me to read an article by Bill Thompson that I’d noticed at lunch.

I pretty much agree with Bill in that it would be difficult if not impossible to form an emotional relationship with a mechanical organism because until AI can give true personalities to our manufactured creations they will not be loveable or able to love. Humans form relationships because of their partner’s idiosyncrasies, not in spite of them. It is our weaknesses that make us human. Another reason why a mechanical fighting machine would be more effective than a human being. After all most humans have an inherent weakness in that they have empathy for other living creatures, particularly of their own species, and are upset when asked to kill them.

But why should you want to form a relationship with an artificial creation? Yes I suppose you might want to have companionship, but that doesn’t have to involve a love affair, some people find that the company of their pets substitutes for a partner in that respect. Of course that can never replace the feeling of having a fellow human being to wake up next to in the morning but pets can display affection and very often without the complex and troublesome emotional baggage a partner can bring.

So if you’re between partners or too busy for a full-on relationship how about a robotic lover that you can switch on in the evenings to satisfy your sexual needs and pack away again when you are done? No guilt, no courtship, no risk of infection from casual sexual encounters. Many of us use sex toys and those toys are becoming more and more accurate in their representation of the real thing. Take the Fleshlight, or the range of artificial penises available.

If you want a full-body sex toy there’s the “Real Doll”, and the last I heard they were developing one for customers who require a partner with a penis. With the appropriate mechanism you could have a mechanical lover with rudimentary AI that would be sufficient to satisfy you in the bedroom, even if it wasn’t up to meeting the parents.

And why would anyone be ashamed about using such a device? As I said many people use sex toys, specifically masturbation aids, if you appreciate the effectiveness and pleasures of a Monkey Spanker, or a vibrator then surely you’d appreciate the pleasures of the “whole package” even more.

Of course there’s always the potential of if turning into a homicidal Gigolo Joe, but then maybe that’s just a reason for making sure there’s an easily accessible off switch 🙂

Tags: sex toys, adult toys, cyber sex, dildonics, Monkey Spanker, Fleshlight, dildos, vibrators, artificial intelligence, AI