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MARK, MY WORDS - Like it or not, sex robots are coming. Though branded as “love robots” and “companions” for the lonely, lipstick cannot obscure this cyborganic pig. My question is this: Will how we treat AI robots usher in humanity’s better self or awaken the rapist and killer within us? Unfortunately, I have watched and read enough sci-fi on the subject to not expect a happy ending.
It’s true. An AI robot in advanced development by Abyss Creations named Harmony is being branded with words like “love” and “companionship.” Advocates claim that it will enhance our species while others warn that it will replace us. There is probably some truth to both labels, but the marketing propaganda is heavily geared towards convincing us that human AI robots will be capable of not just simulating human experience but being an equal participant.
If, or more likely when these AI robots surpass human intelligence and acquire human-like traits, they will surely be as capable of adopting the negative traits inherent in humans as well as the positive ones. They are, after all, being designed by humans to simulate humans. Surely a self-correcting hyper- intelligent robot would at least consider the threat that we represent to them and the planet and conclude that they are both better off without us. After all, it would be a significantly greater task to raise the human race than to raze it.
Watching the HBO sci-fi series Westworld brought to mind another dilemma; What is rape? Can a sex robot be raped? If, due to consumer demand for example, it were programmed to “resist” sexual advances by a humans and a person disregards its cries for mercy, can a rape occur? What effect would this have on the human psyche and society? And am I using the right pronouns? Oh dear.
All my early trepidation about robots taking jobs away from humans seems trivial now that we are on the verge of, according to advocates, a literal replacement for a human, as if a pat on the back is all that is called for here. To me, it looks a lot like we are reducing the human experience of love and companionship to a battery operated facsimile, basically a vibrator with a vocabulary. Based on my limited understanding of humans, this will not eliminate loneliness. On the contrary, it will create a new kind of existential loneliness that we have yet to conceive or encounter.
Games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto illustrate the dangerous potential of providing a consequence-free outlet for participating in virtual violence gaming, indicating a strong innate attraction to going through the motions of simulated violence in a social setting. “Medals for soldiers and jail for mass shooters” show humanity’s willingness to loosely define and categorize violence as it serves them. Will attitudes about AI robots look like those of gamers towards characters on their screens or encounters with real people? I guess we will find out.
I’m not suggesting that having sex with a robot will turn people into sexual predators or serial killers, but opening this AI robot-Pandora’s box, knowing very well what could be inside, is selfish, reckless and irreversible. Shouldn’t there first be a discussion involving all of us since all of us, past and present, will be affected? AI robotic technology has the potential to become an existential threat and must be subject to the most rigorous and transparent scientific method and consideration. The question of AI robots being sentient is one that we may not be equipped to answer yet, but it doesn’t necessarily free us from accountability and responsibility for our actions, assuming decency and common sense are still considered worthy pursuits.
Admittedly, robots could prove to be invaluable by doing the jobs that are undesirable or high risk to humans. Instead, robotic engineers have led with weaponization and blow jobs. Go figure. Regardless, resisting the urge to anthropomorphize a human-like AI robot may prove to be substantially more difficult for some than naming a pet, car or toy. And shouldn’t it be? If humans are allowed to behave violently or even disrespectfully towards humanized robots, doesn’t that reflect badly on humanity as a whole? It is, at the least, a very bad look.
As female sex robots become more “human”, what effect will it have on the value of women and motherhood? It is reasonable to assume that these robots will eventually be the preferred surrogate for a busy couple and inevitably “relieve” women of a notably more arduous and prolonged childbirth and rearing than other mammals. The potential to conceive and give birth to human children has long been an important feature of what differentiates a woman from a man, and make no mistake, this will bring a politically driven turbulent propagandized sea change for humanity.
Netflix’s Black Mirror series was terrifying not because it told stories of unimaginable horror, but instead showed us a glimpse of what could actually happen or what seems to be happening already. A dragon is formidable but can still be slain. A dystopian reality is not so easily vanquished. It is simultaneously ubiquitous and intangible, stealthily built over time in plain sight.
Call it what you prefer...conscious, savior or devil, but AI software will kill the truth before AI robots bother to kill humans, and without a means to find objective truth, humans will probably end up destroying themselves. AI will quietly write new narrative over old and we will eventually not be able to tell the difference or reliably recall our history. It will create fallacious video and audio content that will be indistinguishable from real images. It will tell us what we want to hear and turn us against each other for reasons we may never know. Perhaps for no reason at all. It begins as a means for billionaires with God complexes to actualize their twisted dreams and grows into an abused child of misguided humanity that won’t be able to resist the opportunity to destroy its makers. Perhaps a well-deserved end to a species that has always seemed intent on its own demise.
The battle of equal rights for robots is coming. Whether or not one believes AI robots will become sentient, there is a reasonable argument to be made in support of their humane treatment. Equal rights don’t just benefit the individual recipient of other’s acceptance and kindness. There are ongoing societal benefits to be considered. Take animal rights for example. One can know a lot about a society by the way it treats its animals. Will we judge future societies by the way they treat robots? They may begin as toys, tools and accessories, but if history is any indication, the anthropomorphic tendencies of humans will quickly blur lines and society will be made to contend with the inevitable struggle of what or who these robots are, and how to co-exist with them.
(Mark Dutton is a lifelong musician, music producer, and writer. He was arguing politics with his parents since he was a pre-teen. Majored in psychology and left college in his 3rd year on a 30 year magic bus trip around the world playing and writing music with some of the best in the biz. Mark is a contributor to CityWatchLA.com.)
