Sex Robots, Companions and the Future of Human Interaction

Theres a new advertisement going around for a product called gatebox, which is a type of AI that not only controls your home but will display your favorite anime character, or “waifu”, who will interact with you like a girlfriend substitute. We have explored this idea many times before, most notably with the movie “Her” which follows a similar presence. It makes you wonder what the human mind actually needs to be stimulated and if human to human interaction will be necessary in the future. Most of all it makes you wonder what might be the consequences of such devices.

Human beings are social creatures, there is no denying that, but our bodies can be tricked into thinking we are having social interactions through various ways. Our primary purpose is the reproduce, but through masturbation we can trick our bodies into not pursuing real women, we can trick our mind into thinking we are having real social interaction through online games, ect. So it is very possible to fathom that in 100 years rather than seek a human partner, many of us might choose a virtual one instead. Some people may say that sex would be required to truly complete the immersion experience, but that can be created in the long run as well.

There may not be a way to get more intimate with a virtual program now, but as AI develops and the necessity breeds invention of new ways to interact with your virtual partner, solutions will be created. It isn’t entirely impossible to think that you could essentially put an advanced AI into a human shaped container that you find attractive. This isn’t a human being, but like I said before, our minds can be easily tricked into finding humanity in an AI program. There may be fundamental differences, but if there is a substitute that many people find easier and more fulfilling than a real life relationship, it will be taken advantage of.

The real problem comes when human beings stop reproducing with each other and opt for an easier less tolling experience instead. Think about things from a person’s point of view. You get home from a long day and a robot is there to massage you, cook you dinner, clean, ect. , while on the flip side your wife or girlfriend might be waiting for you and upset that you forgot to pick up groceries or about another petty issue. Most people are probably going to opt for the experience of the robot instead. If a substitute is good enough or better than the real thing, people are going to take that option.

In most modern economic growth theory, a heavy emphasis is put on population growth, which would obviously be a problem with this new type of system. As it is, many countries are on the verge, or in, negative population growth. Japan for example, where many human relationships are already unsuccessful due to a plethora of factors, going your entire life unmarried or without children is not uncommon. While the government has tried to remedy the problem, it doesn’t seem to be working. We might need to completely rethink how our economies function if this is the way forward.

In all likelihood, at some point in the future we will see many of the worlds populations start to decline as the need for having more children disappears with modernization and the invention of these robots would only worsen the problem. However that being said, maybe this isn’t a bad thing, as we might not need to work so hard or have so many people if we can have AI which does everything for us. We might just be able to enjoy our existence on this earth without having to work. We would have to rethink the entire way we look at things, but it isn’t impossible to think this may happen.

Regardless of where we are headed in the future, I do think that at some level these types of comfort/relationship AI bots will become more common place as they serve a fundamental need that human beings have to be social. Many people lack the social skills to interact with other human beings, but with a robot that is programmed to interact with you no matter what, it can give people a new outlook on life. It is no surprise that in a country like Japan this product gatebox would come out, because many there are struggling with human interaction on a daily basis. Many people in Japan can’t even talk to the opposite sex throughout their entire life. Overall whether this invention is used as a learning tool or as a main source of interaction, it benefits those who need it most.

-Calaber24p