I caught this little comedy film on YouTube only the other day, although it’s been online for two years. As well as funny, it’s interesting in the context of the YouTube video I shared here the other day.
Although a comedy (and I certainly found it funny) the ‘twist’ – when she is given her upgraded more human and aware personality – does raise some philosophical issues at the heart of sex robots.
Many believe (including a number of feminists AND their implacable enemies the MGTOWs) that sex robots can never replace women, or at least fulfill the entire gamut of sexual, emotional, and psychological needs that men seek from flesh and blood women.
For that, a sex robot would need to become human. And then what would the appeal of the ‘sex robot’ then be? (And that, it appears, is kind of the point that ‘johntheother’ was making in his YouTube video).
To delve a little deeper – perhaps, as many philosophers maintain, consciousness and self-awareness, is intricately tied to freedom and autonomy. Could it be possible that a truly ‘alive’ sex robot, would or could (not necessarily the same questions) consent to be a virtual sex slave, the property of her (or his) owner?
Sex robot enthusiasts and defenders would claim that it’s possible for a self-aware robot mind to ‘choose’ to serve its owner’s sexual needs. But even if they could get feminists on board with that (highly unlikely), would it even be possible for a real conscious mind, rather than a collection of blind programmed algorithms?
But it should be pointed out, such issues aren’t really important now. Certainly, they should not in any way inform the present debate on whether sex robots are a good thing or not, and certainly whether they should be banned (as some campaigners are trying to achieve). And this is because we are probably decades at least from being able to build a conscious robot mind.
