Sex Robots

A new book by Maurizio Balistreri, "Sex robot. L’amore al tempo delle macchine", is reviewed. Sex robots not only exacerbate social, ethical and cultural issues that already exist, but also come with emergent and novel ones. This book is intended to build on the recent research on both robotics and the growing scholarship on sex robots more generally, however with greater attention to the developments of the philosophical issues of how to deal with these new artefacts and steps for living among these types of systems into the future.

The increasing market for realistic sex dolls has led to heated debate about future relationships with these entities and whether they could lead to an increasing objectification of women or possibly encourage abuse. However, limited academic research has been carried out on the topic, and little is known about the motivations and experiences of those who purchase and use sex dolls. Therefore, we conducted a mixed methods study of 83 participants, accessed through online doll forums, who completed a 22-item, semi-structured questionnaire. The majority were heterosexual, white, employed, middle-aged males; just over half were not in a current relationship, and approximately half lived alone. A thematic analysis revealed a high prevalence of non-sexual, post-human companionship dynamics between dolls and their owners, as well as reservations by doll owners about future robotic developments. In light of these findings, we suggest a new term, ‘allodoll’, which more accurately reflects t...

This chapter explores the creators and potential consumers of sex robots. With Realbotix as our case study, we take a closer look at the language and sentiments of those developing the technology and those who are testing, consuming, or showing an interest in it. We do this by means of website and chat forum analysis, and via interviews with those involved. From this, we can see the motivation for developing a sexual companion robot places the emphasis firmly on the companionship aspect, and that those involved in creating and consuming the products share an ideology of intimacy and affection, with sexual gratification only playing a minor role.

The paper is prepared for exploring the communication as well as the interaction between two species-humans and robots. The variables like sex, emotion, lust and sex have already been taken in terms of completing the study. The innovation of the technology and its continuous impact on the future trends and the society will be vividly discussed. Robotics Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is regarded as one of the sophisticated and rigorous as well as modern technologies out there. Yet, this technology possesses implications in terms of ethical as well as a social point of view. The alteration in the behaviour of human due to the introduction of robot sex and the dilemmas associated with will be

The use of radical new sexual technologies – digisexualities - are here, and as technologies advance, their adoption will grow. Research has revealed that both lay people, and clinicians, have mixed feelings about digisexualities (Scheutz, 2012). Clinicians need to be prepared for the challenges and benefits in the adoption of such sexual technologies. In order to remain ethical and viable, clinicians need to be prepared to work with clients participating in digisexualities (Hertlein, 2010). However, many practitioners are unfamiliar with such technologies, as well as the social, legal and ethical implications. Guidelines for helping individuals and relational systems make informed choices regarding participation in technology-based activities of any kind, let alone ones of a sexual nature, are few and far between (Hertlein, 2010). Thus, a framework through which to engage in digisexualities is imperative.

Thought to be far-fetched works of science fiction and fantasy, one of the most recent and significant developments for the field of science, technology, and society has been that of sex robots (also referred to as sexbots).
This paper aims to examine the developing phenomenon of sex robots through a primarily philosophical lens in order to better understand the implications that the existence of these robots can have for society at large in a multitude of ways. Though a topic that can be easily joked about, one of the main aims for the outcome of this paper will be to establish how sex robots, in many ways, embody the Anthropocene era through the complexity of their existence—an existence that is intertwined with ideas of capitalism, feminism, technologism, representation, and moral responsibilities, or lack thereof, by raising questions on the ethics of sex robots such as: What are the moral implications of creating sex robots? What does that say about the state and status of human intimacy? What does the creation of sex robots say about current social thought? Do sex robots hold any potential for solving social and intimacy issues? Is humanising sex robots ethical? And so on.
This paper will attempt to answer those questions by considering three main perspectives: A ethical/moral critique; a feminist/social critique; and a technological critique, referring to works by the likes of John Danaher & Neil McArthur, Donna Haraway, Hiroki Azuma, David Levy, Jean Baudrillard, and others. By doing so, it is hoped that this paper will be able to provide a basic, holistic perspective to the reader, rather than produce a work that is completely biased against the topic, and help the reader to gain an understanding on the topic and perhaps form an opinion over it in order to gauge at the possibilities that the future holds for sex robots, and the consequences that accompany them in their development.
Keywords: Sex robots; sexbots; philosophy; Anthropocene; Donna Haraway; cyborg manifesto; ethics; morality; science, technology, and society.

This book argues that robots are enchanting humans (as potential intimate partners), because humans are enchanting robots (by performing magical thinking), and that these processes are a part of a significant re-enchantment of the “modern” world. As a foundation, the author examines arguments for and against intimate relationships with robots, particularly sex robots and care robots. Moreover, the book provides a consideration of human-robot interactions and philosophical reflections about robots through the lens of magic and magical thinking as well as theoretical and practical re-evaluations of their status and presence. Furthermore, the author discusses the abovementioned issues in the context of disenchantment and re-enchantment of the world, characterizing modernity as a coexistence of these two processes. The book closes with a consideration of future scenarios regarding the meaning of life in the age of rampant automation and the possibility that designing robots becomes a sort of new eugenics as a consequence of recognizing robots as persons.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-12579-0

At the intersection of social robotics and sex technology, sex robots occupy a unique position within both fields. Sex robots are the only domestic robot where there is a financial incentive to make the robot as life-like as possible, while few other sex devices inspire true scorn and ethical debate. Today's sex robots are rudimentary, they are not nimble, nor can they walk on their own. The “AI personalities" sex robots are outfitted with are akin to smutty versions of the personal assistants found in most smart phones. However, looking twenty, thirty, years down the line, things could shift dramatically for this technology. There is already literature suggesting alternative applications for sex robots, within the fields of healthcare and therapy. Yet there are no clear standards or oversight when it comes to security, privacy, and responsibility within the sex tech industry. In addition, there are campaigns to ban this technology altogether. These factors convene to create an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the future of this emerging technology. This paper aims to provide useful insight into a variety of possible outcomes for sex robot technology, by applying the Futures Studies method of scenarios. Four scenarios were created using the Four Archetypes, also known as the Manoa Method, as developed by Jim Dator. These scenarios were informed by primary data collected via interviews and reinforced with existing secondary data from published academic literature.The four scenarios are: Continued Growth - focused on money, growth and capitalism, many job opportunities are created, as are the risks for exploitation; Discipline - a security-minded society and regulatory environment, where sex robots are clinical tools for providing sexual therapies; Collapse - a future where sex robot technology has been globally prohibited, and back-casts events leading up to this ban; Transformation – a community- oriented society open in sexual attitudes, which recognizes the holistic importance of sexual wellbeing over fleeting sexual needs and momentary gratification. Furthermore, a consumer study was done that reveals insight to the needs of potential sex robot owners and disabled users. These scenarios will be useful for manufacturers, policy makers, consumers, researchers, and even those who campaign against sex robots.

This is not an article. If anything, these are "trans futurist spiritual science visions": radically vulnerable interventions that aim to disrupt naturalized forms of publishable knowledge while centering the needs, fantasies, and longings of disabled queer/trans folks in practices of future-making. These lines transcend the limits of academic knowledge. They are an act of resistance against the logics of subjectivity, relationality, fulfillment, and temporality that permeate current and envisioned notions of love(s). Here, a game for us to play: a theoretical-performative experiment to envision future notions of relationality-while shifting the hypernormative and cis hetero-romantic logics behind contemporary understandings of what sex robots should do and/or be. This is an exploration of the challenges/potentialities of relationships "AmongWithToThrough" humans and nonhuman organic, virtual, and/or synthetic beings. For you-disjointed knowledge: I am jamming on the paper, and there is a soundtrack for each section. I spin the page, and invite you to read with (in) the music. Endnotes are important: engage with them. I do not offer settled conclusions. Above all, this is una ofrenda a corazón abierto written in pain (chronic pain) or maybe an invitation for you to hold my hand. Honor your bodymindspirit: read in any order and think whatever you want when you finish. Thank you very much for your time. All the love and light. . .

The prevalence of discussions regarding sex robots shows a growing anxiety around human-robot interactions (HRI) (Scheutz & Arnold, 2016). The growing field of ‘Lovotics’ seeks to explore the romantic potential of harmonizing love, sex and robotics with HRI (Levy, Cheok & Devlin, 2016). Feminists exploring technology’s potential as a tool to establish gender equality also recognise the problematic nature of the globalized and capitalist market’s potential to impede progress, as explored in Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto and Rosi Braidotti’s The Posthuman (1991) (2013). As technology advances, Realbotix aim to pioneers in the sex-robot field, attempting to create “The Perfect Companion”. Firstly with “Harmony AI”, “part android app, part sexualised robotic assistant” and then also “Harmony Sex Robot” powered by the AI application in a humanoid body. These latest creations introduced to the market are posited as products to have an intimate relationship with (Realbotix, 2018). Our perception of intimacy has changed through technological mediation, as we become increasingly involved in online social interactions (Shank, 2014) (Turkle, 2013), but also because of market-driven changes, an aspect also reflected in globalized sexual commerce (Bernstein, 2008). This investigation seeks to explore how intimacy and companionship is sold through technologically mediated sexual commerce. Through a dualistic approach of discourse analysis of the Realbotix website and cyberethnography of potential customer’s forum comments, this project creates an early approach towards the commercialisation of intimacy mediated through a technologically and artificially created female. This will lead to a reflection on technology and sexual commerce’s mutations that accommodate this desire for intimacy, and how this is characterised through sex robots.

In July 2014, the roboticist Ronald Arkin suggested that child sex robots could be used to treat those with paedophilic predilections in the same way that methadone is used to treat heroin addicts. Taking this onboard, it would seem that there is reason to experiment with the regulation of this technology. But most people seem to disagree with this idea, with legal authorities in both the UK and US taking steps to outlaw such devices. In this paper, I subject these different regulatory attitudes to critical scrutiny. In doing so, I make three main contributions to the debate. First, I present a framework for thinking about the regulatory options that we confront when dealing with child sex robots. Second, I argue that there is a prima facie case for restrictive regulation, but that this is contingent on whether Arkin’s hypothesis has a reasonable prospect of being successfully tested. Third, I argue that Arkin’s hypothesis probably does not have a reasonable prospect of being successfully tested. Consequently, we should proceed with utmost caution when it comes to this technology.

The increasing market for realistic sex dolls has led to heated debate about future relationships with these entities and whether they could lead to an increasing objectification of women or possibly encourage abuse. However, limited academic research has been carried out on the topic, and little is known about the motivations and experiences of those who purchase and use sex dolls. Therefore, we conducted a mixed methods study of 83 participants, accessed through online doll forums, who completed a 22-item, semi-structured questionnaire. The majority were heterosexual, white, employed, middle-aged males; just over half were not in a current relationship, and approximately half lived alone. A thematic analysis revealed a high prevalence of non-sexual, post-human companionship dynamics between dolls and their owners, as well as reservations by doll owners about future robotic developments. In light of these findings, we suggest a new term, 'allodoll', which more accurately reflects the broader, non-sexual relationships of these doll owners, and could broaden the scope of future research. Although sex doll forums may be biased towards certain types of doll users, our findings may allay some of the fears of the more detrimental consequences of sex doll use.

Yapay zekalı varlıkların hayatımızın her alanına girdiği bir dönemde; teknolojide yaşanan gelişmelere paralel olaral, aslında bu ifadenin tek başına içinde bulunduğumuz durumu tanımlamakta yetersiz kaldığı bir döneme girdik. Bunun nedeni ise yapay zekânın hayatımızın her alanına girmiş olması kadar; aslında bizim de yapay zekayı hayatımızın her alanına kabul etmiş olmamızdan kaynaklanıyor. Özellikle son zamanlarda, her türlü faaliyetimizi gerçekleştirmemizi kolaylaştıran gelişmeler ve bu gelişmelerin sağladığı kolaylıklardan en üst düzeyde faydalanmakta ve adeta bu teknolojik gelişmelerin nimetlerini kullanmadan işlerimizi gerçekleştiremez hale gelmiş durumdayız. İnsanlar ve yapay zekâ algoritmalarıyla donatılmış yazılımlar ile gün geçtikçe daha fazla gelişim gösteren yapay zekalı varlıkların gittikçe iç içe girmekteler. Bu ise yapay zekalı yazılımların ve robotların, insanların cinsel hayatları üzerinde etkili olması sonucunu doğurmakta. Yapılan bir araştırma, teknolojik gelişmelerin büyük bir çoğunluğunun uzay araçları, nükleer silahlar, gibi savaşların tetiklemesiyle yaşandığını; ancak bu gelişmelerin en çok kullanıldığı ve yararlanıldığı alanın cinsellik ve seks olduğunu ortaya çıkarmıştır. Özellikle iki savaş dönemi arasındaki süreç içinde teknolojik ve bilimsel alanda yaşanan gelişmelerin büyük bir ivme kazandığı bilinen bir gerçektir. Yapay zekalar ve robotlar da gelişme gösterdikleri günden bu yana çeşitli yollar aracılığıyla insanların cinsel duygularını tatmin etme amacıyla kullanılmıştır. Bununla birlikte son zamanlarda bu varlıkların yalnızca dışarıdan insanları tatmin etmek amacıyla kullanılması değil; bizzat olayın içerisinde dahil olarak insanlar ve robotlar arasında duygusal yakınlaşma olabileceği ve hatta daha da ileri gidilerek bunlar arasında cinsel çekim sonucu seks yapılabileceği gündeme gelmiştir. İnsanlar ve robotlar arasındaki cinsel yakınlaşmaya ilişkin araştırmaların tümü hem yapay zekanın daha fazla geliştiği hem de cinsellik ve seks olgusunun siyasi, dini ve sosyal kültürel nedenlerden dolayı daha rahat konuşulabildiği ve tartışılabildiği Amerika ve Avrupa'da yapılmaktadır. Türkiye'de henüz konuyla ilgili herhangi bir araştırma veya tartışma platformu bulunmamaktadır. Ancak ülkemizde de teknolojinin yoğun bir biçimde kullanılması ve gelişmesi nedeniyle, yapay zekalı varlıkların hayatımızdaki yeri, geleceği ve neden olabileceği problemler kapsamında cinsellik ve seks üzerindeki etkileri de tartışılmalıdır. Bu çalışmamda insanlık tarihinde cinselliğe ilişkin yaklaşımların ve tartışmaların oluşumu ve gelişimi ile yapay zekalı robotların nasıl bu alana dahil olabilecek kadar geliştiği, bazılarının iddia ettiği gibi insanlara nasıl insanlardan çok zevk verdiği ve bu robotların cinsel bir suça konu olması halinde bu problemlerin nasıl çözülebileceği konularını açıklamaktan ziyade esasen bu konuları tartışmaya çalışacağım.

I aimed to create a sort of intellectual unsettlement by valuing what fembots and high-end sex dolls' performance of racialized hyper-femininity can teach us when challenging the understanding of these devices as simple commodification of women. I define high-end sex dolls/fembots as high-tech puppets with agency comprised of technologies produced and able to endure the reproduction of categories of social difference. Therefore, they can become a lovable techno-human subject. Despite their stillness, they perform what I call "synthetic hyper femininity" by confronting us with the unsettling performance of passive resistance of an available, controllable, beautiful, silent, and "made to be fucked" woman. The dolls' performative power reveals that womanhood, as a system of biopolitical production of female docile bodies, seems to be detaching from what we know as organic women to become a commodified techno-performative space habitable by organic and synthetic women. I examine the processes of production of the dolls; the way they are genderized and racialized by a straight cis white man iDollator in a documentary; I explore the similarities between high-end sex dolls' performance of passive resistance and Cam models' performance of hyper femininity; and I delve into my experience with Laila, a half-made doll that was hanging from the ceiling of the production floor when I visited Abyss Creations.

This article provides an interdisciplinary and intersectional analysis of sex robots and/as sexual fantasy. I demonstrate that sexual fantasy is a highly complex and salient vector of analysis for any discussion of love and sex with robots. First, I introduce contemporary North American sex robots and offer a brief sketch of their ontology as relates to sex toys and pornography. Next, I provide a short but instructive mapping of sexual fantasy scholarship from across the fields of experimental psychology, media and cultural studies, post-colonial, psychoanalytic, feminist, queer and critical race theory. My goal here is to demonstrate sexual fantasy’s polymorphous and productive nature and its complex relationship to reality. Drawing on the theories of sexual fantasy canvassed herein, I examine the role of fantasy to sex robots’ inception, marketing, and consumption. From here I offer an appraisal of radical feminist, new materialist, and disabled queer and trans feminists’ critiques of sex robots and their users. I argue that theorizing sex robots through the lens(es) of sexual fantasy is necessary given efforts to stigmatize, regulate, and criminalize sexual fantasy and sextech users in the post/digital age. Future scholarship is encouraged to further examine the sex robot/sexual fantasy nexus and to consider whether and how their intersections impede or facilitate the development of alternative “networks of affection” including those that lie between the platonic and romantic or between “carbonsexuality” and technosexuality/digisexuality.

This manuscript discusses the relationship between women, technology manifestation, and likely prospects in the developing world. Using India as a case study, the manuscript outlines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics affect women’s opportunities in developing countries. Women in developing countries, notably in South Asia, are perceived as doing domestic work and are underrepresented in high-level professions. They are disproportionately underemployed and face prejudice in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to determine if the introduction of AI would exacerbate the already precarious situation of women in the developing world or if it would serve as a liberating force. While studies on the impact of AI on women have been undertaken in developed countries, there has been less research in developing countries. This manuscript attempts to fill that need.

Radical new sexual technologies, which we term “digisexualities,” are here. As these technologies advance, their adoption will grow, and many people may come to identify themselves as “digisexuals” – people whose primary sexual identity comes through the use of technology. Researchers have found that both lay people and clinicians have mixed feelings about digisexualities. Clinicians must be prepared for the challenges and benefits associated with the adoption of such sexual technologies. In order to remain ethical and viable, clinicians need to be prepared to work with clients participating in digisexualities. However, many practitioners are unfamiliar with such technologies, as well as the social, legal, and ethical implications. Guidelines for helping individuals and relational systems make informed choices regarding participation in technology-based activities of any kind, let alone ones of a sexual nature, are few and far between. Thus, a framework for understanding the nature of digisexuality and how to approach it is imperative.

As a result of its accelerated evolution in the early 21 st Century, technology has already extended far beyond mere instrumental status. In the not too distant future we can expect technology to move towards a new dimension in terms of fusing with human nature; most notably in the field of intimacy towards what are known as erobots (i.e., sexbots, augmented erotic characters, erotic chatbots, erotic avatars, etc.). Given that these erobots have every chance to become part of a future eroticism, this places erobots beyond the onto-metaphysical grounding of the Western tradition regarding objects. This is an aspect that attracts the dissolution of the anthropocentric legacy of Western metaphysics, within the parameters of OOO, by showing that, in this paradigm, so-called human uniqueness is suffering an ontological twist. To show this I am investigating, the scenario that involves the relationship between a sexbot and a human, alongside of that between two sexbots, within the limits of OOO. Consequently, I am addressing the issue of how a sexbot relates to both a human agent and to another sexbot. I am also analyzing the perspective in which a future presence of erobots in the intimate life of the individual will twist the traditional image of eroticism in Western culture. This perspective is opening a deconstructing process with regard to human exceptionalism-analyzed within the limits of the 'deterritorialization' of eroticism-from the traditional structures of Western metaphysical heritage. Such deterritorialization emphasizes the paradigm shift in which eroticism is leaving the familiar terrain of the metaphysics of presence and the fixed structures of societies' 'strata'. Thus, following the philosophical thinking of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, the 'reterritorialization' of eroticism-in the fluid, transversal and rhizomatic network of technology-is an ongoing, ever-changing process, taking place in the immanent sphere of techno-eroticism's 'plane of consistency'.

I robot del sesso sono già una realtà: per il momento i facsimili sono alquanto grezzi e assai poco sofisticati, ma in futuro la tecnologia potrà produrre copie sempre più qualificate. Molto spesso i robot del sesso vengono presentati come un prodotto destinato soprattutto alle persone sole, con disabilità o che hanno subito traumi sessuali. In realtà, il robot del sesso può essere un “giocattolo” divertente per qualsiasi persona interessata ed in grado di fare sesso con una macchina programmata e progettata per questo o a cui piace fare sesso con un’altra persona usando anche oggetti. L’idea, però, che si possa avere un rapporto sessuale con un robot (intelligente quanto vogliamo) non è bizzarra? In fondo, il sesso non è qualcosa di diverso? Non proviamo, poi, disgusto all’idea che qualcuno abbia voglia di fare sesso con un robot? Non è normale pensare che dietro la scelta di acquistare o di fare sesso con i robot ci sia una difficoltà ad entrare in relazione con altre persone? Non è forse evidente che dietro il bisogno di possedere un robot, c’è soprattutto il desiderio di avere un partner sottomesso, controllabile e sempre a disposizione per qualsiasi richiesta? E cosa pensare delle persone che vogliono fare sesso con un robot programmato per rifiutare un rapporto sessuale: non traggono piacere da una violenza?  Dal momento, poi, che i sex robot vengono prodotti soprattutto con le fattezze di donne e hanno come possibili acquirenti soprattutto gli uomini, la loro commercializzazione non alimenta la convinzione malata che le donne siano a disposizione degli uomini e che questi hanno il diritto di usarle e sfruttarle per il loro piacere? Si potrebbero aprire poi scenari completamente nuovi: ad esempio, con la produzione di umanoidi sempre più intelligenti potremmo in futuro anche innamorarci di loro e immaginare che non siano delle semplici macchine ma persone? Oltre a confrontarsi con il dibattito internazionale sull’accettabilità morale dei sex robot, il libro prende in esame gli studi più recenti sui videogiochi violenti e sulla pornografia, mettendo in discussione la convinzione diffusa che praticare giochi violenti o assistere a rappresentazioni violente corrompa le persone e le renda violente. La tesi del libro è che i sex robot non soltanto potrebbero essere uno strumento importante per esprimere ed esplorare le nostre fantasie sessuali più proibite, ma potrebbero anche essere usati per il trattamento dei sex offender e pedofili. Un libro che mette in discussione i nostri pregiudizi nel confronti dei sex robot e che con chiarezza e semplicità ci aiuta a ragionare e a riflettere su un futuro che è già presente, nella consapevolezza che i robot cambieranno il mondo e la nostra vita.

This chapter explores the ethical impacts of the use of affective computing by engineers and roboticists who program their machines to mimic and manipulate human emotions in order to evoke loving or amorous reactions from their human users.  We will see that it does seem plausible that some people might buy a love machine if it were created, but it is argued here that principles from machine ethics have a role to play in the design of these machines.  This is best achieved by applying what is known about the philosophy of love, the ethics of loving relationships and the philosophical value of the erotic in the early design stage of building robust artificial companions.  The chapter concludes by proposing certain ethical limits on the manipulation of human psychology when it comes to building sex robots and in the simulation of love in such machines.  In addition the chapter argues that the attainment of erotic wisdom is an ethically sound goal and that it provides more to loving relationships than only satisfying physical desire.  This fact may limit the possibility of creating a machine that can fulfill all that one should want out of erotic love unless a machine can be built that would help its user attain this kind of love.

We propose that virtue ethics can be used to address ethical issues central to discussions about sex robots. In particular, we argue virtue ethics is well equipped to focus on the implications of sex robots for human moral character. Our evaluation develops in four steps. First, we present virtue ethics as a suitable framework for the evaluation of human–robot relationships. Second, we show the advantages of our virtue ethical account of sex robots by comparing it to current instrumentalist approaches, showing how the former better captures the reciprocal interaction between robots and their users. Third, we examine how a virtue ethical analysis of intimate human–robot relationships could inspire the design of robots that support the cultivation of virtues. We suggest that a sex robot which is equipped with a consent-module could support the cultivation of compassion when used in supervised, therapeutic scenarios. Fourth, we discuss the ethical implications of our analysis for user autonomy and responsibility.

The paper is prepared for exploring the communication as well as the interaction between two species-humans and robots. The variables like sex, emotion, lust and sex have already been taken in terms of completing the study. The innovation of the technology and its continuous impact on the future trends and the society will be vividly discussed. Robotics Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is regarded as one of the sophisticated and rigorous as well as modern technologies out there. Yet, this technology possesses implications in terms of ethical as well as a social point of view. The alteration in the behaviour of human due to the introduction of robot sex and the dilemmas associated with will be

This paper will critically examine the conflict around the emerging production of sex robots (sexbots). This conflict is characterised by the dichotomy of neoliberal commodification of women’s bodies and the fear of objectification and violence present in some feminist discourses. Narratives of sex robots are sometimes unhelpfully dominated by a perceived combative relationship between institutions and corporations bent on creating sexbots, and academics and activists who are dead-set against them. The conversation is limited and struggles to deal with the possibility of social transformation in the wake of this new technology. The consequence of this limitation is that sex robots are built as a reflection of a very specific conflict.
This view of sexbots tends to erase the immense transgressive potential of innovations in the sex industry. Most (though not all) sex dolls and early robots have so far been created in the image of a supposedly ideal woman – a caricature who is subjectively beautiful, tractable, and does not require remuneration for her unpaid labour.  The paper will discuss the novel Divine Endurance to reinforce the contention that ongoing engagement with this issue will be more interesting than conventionally reported. Sex robots transgress boundaries simply by being around humans.
Sex robots are not born a part of human politics, but are motivated non-neutrally by the influence of humans and nonhumans.  Who or what will be the agents that control sex robots? Right now, every sex robot created reinforces the familiar conflict over representation and objectification. Sex robots are created and used in predictable ways that puts them into very predictable hands. We are, this very moment, missing the opportunity to embrace and guide sexbot-induced social change.

As a result of its accelerated evolution in the early 21st Century, technology has already extended far beyond mere instrumental status. In the not too distant future we can expect technology to move towards a new dimension in terms of fusing with human nature; most notably in the field of intimacy towards what are known as erobots (i.e., sexbots, augmented erotic characters, erotic chatbots, erotic avatars, etc.). Given that these erobots have every chance to become part of a future eroticism, this places erobots beyond the onto-metaphysical grounding of the Western tradition regarding objects. This is an aspect that attracts the dissolution of the anthropocentric legacy of Western metaphysics, within the parameters of OOO, by showing that, in this paradigm, so-called human uniqueness is suffering an ontological twist. To show this I am investigating, the scenario that involves the relationship between a sexbot and a human, alongside of that between two sexbots, within the limits o...

As society moves swiftly towards incorporating an increased number of social robots, the need for a deeper cultural understanding of companionship as a critical social aspect of human-robot connection is urgent. This cultural study examines how three of the most popular and publicly available sex robot marketing videos mobilise the meaning of companionship. Videos of "Roxxxy", "Harmony", and "Emma" were examined employing a social semiotic discourse analysis based on a long history of identifying how advertisements tap into social and cultural ideals. Companionship is identified as: (i) enjoyed through attention, reliability, usefulness, support, trust, and kindness; (ii) including ideas of long-term commitment and endurance through the mundane, every day, and ordinary aspects of life; (iii) occurring where the meanings of connection for humans and robots are conflated even though they differ for humans and technology; and (iv) a vulnerability for both robot and human. Furthermore, the representations of robot companions remain limited to stereotypical concepts of women; viewers are positioned as desiring a product that claims agency but has none, and is marketed 'as good as' a human woman. In all, the representations are complex and far too simple-simple because this is an ideological model of companionship and complex because the ideas of technology are conflated with human-human ideals of companionship. Where technological design aspires towards a better future for humans, there is an urgency to move beyond the limited anthropomorphic cultural concepts presently aspired to in the design and marketing of companion robots. Keywords Human-robot interaction • Human-robot relationships • Robot companion • Companionship • Sex robot • Stereotype • Feminine • Social semiotics • Cultural studies • Robot futures • Robot design "I am Emma. I am here to accompany you." (EmmaAI Tech) [1] "What if I could have my true companion? " (RoxxxyTruecompanion.com)[2] "I am a first-generation RealDoll X designed to be a com-panionFriend and lover." (HarmonyRealbotix) [3]

Sexbots (sex robots) are increasingly marketed as companions for lonely singles, including elderly people in care homes. They are also promoted (when switched into family friendly mode) to engage in everyday activities like picnics, family gatherings, family portraits and reading books to the children at night. Some promoters of sexbots promise that more than sex toys, their products can offer companionship and relationships that had previously been limited to human-to-human. This article looks beyond fears amplified by news media to see how robots are represented as mediators and embodiments of social ideals of companionship. Beginning with a social semiotic visual analysis of AITech’s promotional website for the sexbot Emma, we argue that rather than being a failed or problematic representation of human intimacy, Emma is portrayed as a non-human translation of a richer social relationship. She is certainly a commodity, and a gender stereotype, but also a media spectacle that has e...

Aims of the contribution
To explore which academic disciplines and theorists can shed light on the current manifestations of “Artificial Femininities” in digitalized sexual commerce, in order to elaborate on my current PhD research titled “The Future of Intimacy and Sextech: Gendered Modalities of Posthuman Technologies in Sexual Commerce”. This PhD thesis questions the nature of artificial and technologically mediated gendered-female embodiment as a conduit for intimacy, and to what extent this reflects contemporary trends in globalized sexual commerce with human agents (Bernstein, 2008).

Sexbots (sex robots) are increasingly marketed as companions for lonely singles, including elderly people in care homes. They are also promoted (when switched into family friendly mode) to engage in everyday activities like picnics, family gatherings, family portraits and reading books to the children at night.  Some promoters of sexbots promise that more than sex toys, their products can offer companionship and relationships that had previously been limited to human-to-human. This article looks beyond fears amplified by news media to see how robots are represented as mediators and embodiments of social ideals of companionship. Beginning with a social semiotic visual analysis of AITech’s promotional website for the sexbot Emma, we argue that rather than being a failed or problematic representation of human intimacy, Emma is portrayed as a non-human translation of a richer social relationship. She is certainly a commodity, and a gender stereotype, but also a media spectacle that has engendered fascination and even desire. She is a media platform for companionship, a toy, a body, an extension and a simulation, but is often visually represented in an impoverished form of companionship.

Key words; intimacy, sexbots, companionship, human-robot relationships, social robotics, sex robot, fembot, gender, visual culture
open access link;
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1588