For
example, Roxxy, billed by its makers as the world’s first
sex robot, is human-like in appearance and touch, and comes
pre-programmed with a set of responses to external stimuli.
Videos
of Roxxy are easily located online and clearly illustrate that
the degree of human-likeness is, at this stage, quite crude.
Still, it is an indication of where the technology is going,
and when one appreciates that there are more impressive developments
in human-like movement and intelligence, one can imagine future
sex robots being considerably more human-like in nature.
DISPLACEMENT
VERSUS RESILIENCE
Technology
and technological innovation can have a profound impact on employment
patterns. In many cases, the impact is positive: technology
can increase productivity and economic growth, and create new
and exciting employment opportunities Still, certain forms of
labour have displayed resiliency, and there are niche markets
for products and services that are made or provided purely by
human hands.
How
much resiliency is really out there and where does sex work
fit within this matrix?
THE DISPLACEMENT HYPOTHESIS
Displacement
Hypothesis: Prostitution will be displaced by sex robots, much
as other forms of human labour have been displaced by technological
analogues.
Yeoman
and Mars (2012), for instance, argue for a possible future in
which the Amsterdam sex industry is taken over by android prostitutes.
Avid Levy argues that prostitutes are at serious risk of being
displaced by sophisticated sex robots, and that the ethical
and social implications of this displacement need to be addressed.
The
Transference Thesis: All the factors driving demand for human
prostitutes can be transferred over to sex robots, i.e. the
fact that there is demand for the former suggests that there
will also be demand for the latter.
The
Advantages Thesis: Sex robots will have significant advantages
over human prostitutes.
When
coupled with some basic decision theoretical principles about
what causes people to demand or supply certain things in preference
to others, these two theses can make a decent case for the displacement
hypothesis.
Innate
biological urges provide a reasonably consistent baseline of
demand which can be accentuated in certain cultural milieus.
One could argue that the level of demand is accentuated nowadays
thanks to the increasingly casual and taboo-free attitude towards
sex in many Western societies.
The
first factor influencing the demand for prostitution is the
so-called myth of mutuality: clients seek out prostitutes because
they think they can obtain the kind of emotional bond with them
that is typically associated with sexual relationships. Prostitutes
are (sometimes) willing to facilitate this fantasy. The second
factor influencing the demand for prostitution is the desire
for sexual variety, both in terms of the number and type of
sexual partners and the type of sexual act. The third factor
influencing demand for prostitution is the appeal of sex that
is free from the typical emotional and social constraints and
complications. And the fourth factor influencing demand is a
lack of sexual success in ordinary life, where this lack of
success can itself be caused by numerous factors, including
social isolation, disability, long working hours and age.
The
gist of the transference thesis is that sex robots are credible
substitutes for human prostitutes. The strength of this case
is dependent on the state of the technology. It is relatively
easy to see how certain factors would transfer over; less easy
to see how others would, without a significant improvement in
the technology. For example, it is relatively easy to see how
three of the factors — lack of sexual success, desire
for sexual variety, and freedom from constraint and complication
— could transfer over to sex robots. Indeed, we already
see sex robot manufacturers catering to these demand-based factors.
Roxxy, who was mentioned earlier, comes pre-programmed with
five different personalities, ranging from the prim and proper
to the prurient and kinky. These personalities help cater to
the demand for sexual variety. We can also assume, plausibly,
that sex robots can be made available to those who experience
a lack of sexual success, and that sex with such robots can
be free from all complication and constraint. What is more difficult
to see is whether emotional bonding will be possible with sex
robots. But, of course, the case for displacement does not rest
on the transference thesis alone. It is only when this thesis
is combined with the advantages thesis that we begin to see
how sex robots may come to displace ordinary human prostitutes.
It is only if sex robots will be demanded (and supplied) in
preference to human prostitutes that displacement is likely
to take place. So what advantages do sex robots have over humans?
We
can start with legal advantages. In many countries, prostitution
is legally prohibited, thereby putting both the prostitute and
client at risk of legal sanction; the use of sex robots is typically
not subject to legal sanction. A similar argument could made
on the grounds that sex robots can cater to certain, currently
illegal, sexual deviancies.
There
are also ethical advantages. Many people are concerned about
the ethics of human prostitution, particularly where it is suspected
to involve trafficking or enforced sexual slavery. Provided
that sex robots do not reach the level of sophistication needed
for artificial personhood (in the moral sense of personhood)
the same sorts of ethical concern do not arise.
Then
there are the health risk advantages. This, however, must be
tempered by the observation that if sex robots are reused by
multiple clients, poor sanitation could also carry a risk of
infection.
Finally,
there are advantages of flexibility and production. Robots can
be programmed and designed to suit the whims of their users.
If the demand for prostitution is increasing at a rate that
cannot be met by human workers, sex robots can be produced en
masse.
THE
RESILIENCY HYPOTHESIS
The
case for the resiliency hypothesis rests on two key theses:
The
Human Preference Thesis: Ceteris Paribus, if given
the choice between sex with a human prostitute or a robot, many
(if not most) humans will prefer sex with a human prostitute.
The
Increased Supply Thesis: Technological unemployment in other
industries is likely to increase the supply of human prostitutes.
Though
sexual activity comes in many forms, there is a core type of
sexual contact that is a deeply human, interpersonal and embodied
activity. The desirability of this form of sexual contact is
not simply a function of sexual excitement or orgasm since people
can achieve sexual excitement and orgasm through solitary sexual
activity.
Even
if robots did obtain that level of sophistication, it is likely
that the human concern for the ontological history of certain
objects would maintain the preference for human partners. And
no matter how you look at it, robots won’t have the right
ontological history.
A Huffington
Post/Yougov poll conducted in early 2013 asked people whether
they would be willing to have sex with a robot. Only 9% of those
polled said they would, with 81% saying they would not, and
10% saying they were unsure. Still, the results of the survey
must be interpreted critically: people may not be willing to
admit (even anonymously), to a willingness to couple with a
robot.
One
the problems with the human preference argument, by itself,
is that it doesn’t say anything about the overall supply
of human prostitution. If there aren’t enough human prostitutes
to meet the available demand people many will be likely to seek
out the comfort of a sex robot. The case for the increased supply
thesis rests on four premises:
When
the increased supply thesis is combined with the human preference
thesis, we provide a reasonable grounding for the resiliency
thesis. People prefer to have sex with humans, and in the future
more people will be willing to supply human sexual labour, being
driven to it by increasing levels of technological unemployment
in other industries. This picture is very different from that
being promoted by proponents of the displacement hypothesis.
Furthermore,
many (Western) countries have now relaxed or decriminalized
prostitution. This trend could well continue, particularly if
more and more people are forced into sex work by technological
unemployment. When it comes to ethical advantages, we can again
note that these have not dissuaded people historically from
engaging the services of prostitutes, and, in any event, ethical
attitudes have been shifting thanks to increasing acceptance
of casual sex. Finally, when it comes to health risk advantages
and advantages in terms of flexibility and production, the response
is straightforward: human prostitutes will adapt in order to
maintain their advantage over robot competitors.
PROSTITUTION
AND THE BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE
The
unconditional basic income guarantee is radical proposal for
reforming the way in which income is distributed.
Basic
Income Proposal: A basic income is an income unconditionally
granted to all on an individual basis, without means test or
work requirement. It is a form of minimum income guarantee that
differs from those that now exist in various European countries
in three important ways: