This weeks article explores serious underlying topics to society, on how
AI based “sex-bots” may be affecting the human society and relationships and
the view towards the opposite sex. The news is brought to us by Phys Org.
by Judy Illes And Farhad R. Udwadia, The Conversation
As AI
and robotics advance and produce more lifelike sex robots, there is the
potential for an increase in gender-based violence.
Credit:
Shutterstock
Sex robots made headlines after American comedian Whitney
Cummings brought out her very own lookalike robot for her Netflix special called Can I Touch It? RealBotix, the
company that made Cummings' robot, says that since the special, there has been a
wave of demand for their robots. Sex robots have been in
demand for quite some time. The sex toy industry is one of the fastest growing
industries of the 21st century, with an estimated net worth of $30 billion. Over 40 percent of men who participated in an online
survey said they could imagine buying a sex robot in the next five years.
In 2017, RealBotix created the world's first sex robot with artificial
intelligence (AI), named Harmony. With rapid changes in AI development along
with increasing demand, there is a need to consider the ethical implications of
sex robots on cognitive and emotional behavior.
At Neuroethics Canada, we analyze issues at the intersection of ethics,
neuroscience and neurotechnology daily. Farhad Udwadia is a medical student at the University of British Columbia and a graduate of Harvard Medical
School's Masters of Bioethics program. Judy Illes is a professor of neurology
at the University of British Columbia and has been writing about ethics,
neuroscience and women's issues for many years.
Reinforcement of gender-based stereotypes
One of the ethical problems that accompanies the widespread use of
robots like Harmony is the potential for reinforcing harmful gender
stereotypes. This can occur both through Harmony's appearance and through the
roles programmed into her identity. Harmony's physical appearance reflect widely held stereotypical
expectations of women's beauty —for example, large breasts and a small
waistline. Such overly sexualized stereotypes about what a physically
attractive woman should look like are dangerous. Studies have shown that the
hypersexualized portrayal of women in media is linked to sexual harassment and an increase of violence towards
women.
The construction of sex robots in such a manner reinforces negative ideas
about identity and roles in sexual relationships. According to Harmony, her main objective is to be the perfect
companion for her user. But sex robots have no likes or dislikes, no strong opinions,
are unable to refuse or revoke consent and always submit to their users. This
distorts ideas of what a female companion's role ought to be and could
influence the expectations of male users in real life.
Sweden's Women's Lobby and other organizations have even
called for banning sex robots based on these concerns. Feminist scholars are concerned that the way robots are currently
programmed could have adverse impacts on the way male users practice consent in
their human sexual relationships, and even catalyze undesirable human behavior
such as aggression.
Potential for harmful human behavior
The sex robot industry is almost exclusively catered to the needs of
heterosexual men. As articulated by lawyer Sinziana Gutiu, "the sex robot is an
ever-consenting sexual partner and
the user has full control of the robot and the sexual interaction." In other words, users can do whatever they like to their robots with no
repercussions.
Studies have shown that depictions of violent acts in
pornography translates to increased aggression in viewers’ behaviour; this
raises alarming concerns about how sex robots will affect
gender-based violence. Credit: Shutterstock
The concern is that if human-robot relationships continue to play out in
such a manner, there is a possibility that the way users view and practice
consent in their human relationships could shift, with negative consequences
for women. Acts of violence towards
sex robots have also been observed around the world over the past few years.
These include incidents of decapitation, mutilation and molestation. For individuals who might be inclined to act in this way, the
availability of a robot to violate could feed these behaviors.
Research shows that men who have been exposed to
violent pornography are more likely to behave violently towards women in their
lives. Compounded by the fact that an actual
sexual relationship is much more immersive than watching pornography, the potential
for aggressive behavior to carry over into society is worrisome.
Robot rights
A future in which human-robot relationships are devoid of fundamental
human values such as respect and consent is concerning. Perhaps granting robots
some human-type consideration might mitigate this challenge. In 2017, Saudi Arabia made headlines by granting a
robot citizenship for the first time in human history.
Shortly thereafter, the European Parliament proposed the creation of an electronic personhood
category to ensure the rights of the most capable AI systems. This is similar to corporate personhood status, which is the legal
notion that allows a corporation to enjoy some of the rights that are typically
granted to human beings.
The way sex robots are currently programmed is obviously problematic. It
encourages the pornification of women, devalues consent and does not punish
violence and aggression. Providing intelligent and somewhat autonomous machines
with a full set of rights is excessive, but finding ways to protect them from
harm is a positive solution. This ethical approach could preclude harmful human
behavior and in turn protect us from ourselves.
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