INTRODUCTION
Socially
we are often encouraged to entwine sex and love, yet there are
multiple views, perspectives and experiences of sex, a limited
number of which incorporate or relate to love and vice versa.
This essay discusses the potential of robots for sexual activity
that whilst it can be used to enhance a loving relationship
most frequently is not. Instead, pornography is representative
of a sexual activity that is quintessentially not related to
love. There are supporters for the perspective that one day
we will create robots that we can love and even marry. Yet,
it must be queried how sensible, natural or wise it is to love
a created object, even one that has the ‘look and feel’
of a living being. Whilst a robot may simulate life, fundamentally
it is not living. It cares not one jot about anything but adequately
completing the code stored in its technology. Yes, it may be
possible to create robots that are simulacrums of reality, however,
this is all they are and thus the idea of evoking emotions such
as love through human-robot interaction seems oddly inappropriate.
Of course there is the argument that some people need to feel
loved and that a robot could provide an ideal solution for someone
who isn’t being loved.
I’m
not convinced, for whilst another living being may require love,
a created object, even one that appears to love in return does
not really require or reciprocate this love. Requiring a suspension
of disbelief to enable durable love seems unrealistic and ultimately
you know your lover was created by a bunch of computer scientists
and engineers. Irrespective of such doubts, the popular vision
that we will co-exist with lifelike humanoid robots for companionship,
love and sex continues to dominate. This vision is strongly
influenced by science fiction, with a whole host of lifelike
robots, played by people, to choose from. To make the fictional
narrative interesting and effective, the robots, whether sex
workers or loving partner, exhibit emotional and social traits
of ‘real humans.’ In responding to this fictional
vision of the social, emotional humanoid robot, the Human Robot
Interaction research community has largely focused on steps
towards creating loving, caring robots that are able to socially
interact, with significant literature on affect and emotions
in social robotics. The focus has been on the robot ‘mind’
and particularly the affective component, often with long term
relationships as the context. However, do robots really need
to be affective to provide a sexual experience for the user?
With humans, even the most casual single liaison inevitably
involves some social interaction, so intuitively the answer
would be yes, sex robots should have some social capability.
However,
whilst affect has a role, surely more importantly the sex robot
should be able to autonomously exhibit and physically respond
to / for sexual pleasure. The technical challenges surrounding
physical embodiment for sex robots are immense, yet there has
been relatively little focus on creating physical embodiments
of sex robots. Physically embodied robots such as Nao, Pepper
and Baxter have no sexual capacity. Although Pepper’s
purchasers were required to confirm that they would not use
Pepper sexually, it is challenging to imagine how Pepper could
be used as it is just a plastic doll with no sexual characteristics
or orifices with only simple manipulation potential.
If
we consider creating a robot for an excellent sexual experience
for the user, then the user requirements are significantly reduced
if our focus is on physical, sexual arousal and pleasure within
a context that does not require love. Removing, love, social
and emotional relationships from the requirements for the sex
robot is commonly depicted in futuristic settings by sex robots
operating as sex workers. However, perhaps the future for sex
with robots might be something completely different from that
portrayed in the media. Instead, could sex robots, like other
hardware -- such as consoles, form a part of our leisure activities.
LEISURE
SEX AND PORNOGRAPHY
A
‘vanilla’ view of sex still continues to dominate
popular culture, particularly in the media, with healthy, appropriate
sex often seen as an activity between consenting, loving, often
heterosexual adults typically in a long-term relationship.
Complementary
to this, Attwood and Smith’s discussion of leisure sex
highlights a myriad of sexual practices and perspectives within
“a modern, mediatized sexual culture whose symbolic resources
valorize revelation and hedonism rather than discretion and
self-discipline” Leisure sex is on the increase and gaining
acceptance, for example, we are no longer shocked by the casual
hook-ups of celebrities, merely titillated and amused. Casual
hook-ups, affairs and sex as fun are becoming a more socially
acceptable activity. This trend has clearly been facilitated
by technology, with significant growth in hook-up and ‘cheating’
sites; social networks to share and gain experiences; increasing
availability of adult content, such as on-line strip shows,
sex web-cams, along with a significant amount industry and user
generated pornographic content; and growing use of adult interactive
virtual reality platforms across a range of consoles and devices.
Whilst much on-line leisure sex has focused on facilitating
sexual activity between people, there is a growth in providing
on-line sexual experiences that do not require another person.
There are obvious benefits to this if the sex provides the required
arousal and experience whilst avoiding potential dangers of
intimate engagement, such as disease or unpleasant encounters,
and of course some of the social consequences of getting ‘caught.’
On-line sexual experiences that do not involve another person
are often pornographic, with content ranging from non-interactive
video, audio and photos of real people to interactions with
digital sex partners with no human in the loop.
There
are many who argue that sex and pornography are, and should
be, different things. However, this would naively assume that
the distinction between pornography and sex relates to the mechanics
of how one physically engages in sexual activity. Instead the
distinction is actually made to facilitate a vision of pornography
as something morally deviant, harmful and unnatural as compared
to a married couple having loving sex. Pornography is part of
many people’s sexual arousal and activities, sitting on
the spectrum of everyday, typical sexual experiences. One of
the most widely cited set of porn statistics identified that
every second 28,258 internet users are viewing porn; 25% of
all search engine requests are pornography related; and 35%
of all Internet downloads are pornographic. These statistics
are not without problems or critique, but they have achieved
status from their frequent repetition and resonate with the
common sense belief that porn is an ever-increasing and regular
on-line activity for many people. Whilst there is some use of
pornography by couples, predominantly we watch porn alone. And
the emphasis is on watching rather than interaction. With this
focus on the individual and non-interactive user experience,
where pornography does differ from sex is in its inability to
provide a sense of sexual intimacy, something that is inevitably
generated through a sexual encounter between participants, however
brief. With the advent of sex robots, pornography could be extended
through robotics into a sexual act performed on an individual
by another entity. Thus intimacy of sorts, albeit not with another
person, begins to be possible in an individual context. This
sexual intimacy may be very different to that which we experience
with people. However, how we use pornography is also different
to how we experience sex with others.
ANY
GUIDELINES FOR THE SEX ROBOT FOR PORNOGRAPHY?
The significant size of the porn industry and widespread reporting
of frequent use, would suggest that on-line porn use would be
a well-studied domain, with plentiful design, development, interaction
and evaluation advice for the user experience that could be
used to ground Porn Robots. Unfortunately, this is not the case,
with noting that “the intense proliferation of and access
to pornography occasioned by the Internet is one of its most
important and least studied effects.” There is a recognized
need to consider sexuality and human computer (sexual) interaction
and argues that “HCI has a unique contribution to make
to the broader study of pornography.” This hasn’t
happened, and as noted in a comprehensive review of HCI and
sexuality: “Works on sexual technology such as pornography,
sex toys and health equipment are very few in number.”
Work on sex robots is largely speculative and about attitudes
to what might be and what we might need to think about. Much
of this focuses on personal, social and cultural impact which
largely relies on sex robots becoming pseudo-people, just as
in sciencefiction (e.g. Humans, Westworld). Thus, although there
are studies relating to how relationships may be with sex robots,
what the ethics might be, how we might live with them, love
them, decide to buy them, etc. what is lacking is the sex robot
itself.
Academic
speculation has sparked media interest, culminating in articles
implying that sex robots will be purchasable in the very near
future. More, that these sex robots will provide intimacy, and
be able to converse and interact like another being. This has
resulted in user expectations of sex robots being impossibly
high. Currently, there are no sex robots, with the frequently
referenced Roxxxy yet to be seen and reviewed by the scientific
community and viewed by Levy as a hoax. And whilst there is
a nod to technical challenge in the academic literature on robot
sex, the focus has been on thought and potential, the ‘what
if’ scenarios, rather than actually making the robots
and evaluating what can be achieved.
Whilst
the research community remains nervously on the sidelines and
fails to engage with the design, development and evaluation
of technology for pornography, the Porn Industry has no such
qualms. As with earlier technologies including photography,
cinema, user-generated content, software affiliation and Tube
sites, the Porn Industry is clearly willing to invest and use
any technology they can to progress their sector. And robots
are within their sights.
REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE SEX ROBOT AND TECHNOLGICAL RESPONSE TO PORNOGRAPHIC
CHALLENGES
Whilst
pornography is often considered and advertised as ‘leaving
nothing to the imagination’ and ‘providing an immersive
experience,’ currently these claims are only partially
met. With pornography restricted to visual and auditory stimuli,
there is clearly a need for the imagination to fill the gaps
left by the other senses to increase the sense of immersion.
And until recently, on-line porn was screen based in a non-immersive
media format that is clearly physically separate from the user.
Times
are changing, with VR technologies, particularly the emergence
of VR headsets such as Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear and Google
Cardboard offering pornography a way to provide full audio and
visual immersion. The inconvenience of wearing a VR headset
is massively outweighed by the benefits of the increased appeal
of VR Porn, with sales in VR headsets revealing clear consumer
interest. Notably, Oculus has placed almost no restrictions
on content to be developed for the Oculus Rift. This effectively
opens the way for pornographers, such as SugarDVD ‘the
Netflix of Porn,’ who are developing VR content along
with a dedicated VR Porn channel.
Predictions
of trends by companies such as Market Watch are that the Adult
Content area of VR will have similar sales potential as the
game sector. With VR, it is technologically possible to convince
ourselves that we are in an audiovisual reality, thus hearing
and sight, the two key foci of porn videos can already become
a realistic experience. This move to VR for pornography highlights
an important alternative when considering sex with robots, with
the opportunity to provide the robot’s audio and visual
aesthetic through a headset rather than within the physical
embodiment of the robot itself. Our goal with sex robots for
pornography is to facilitate the user in individual sexual activity
within the context of the pornographic narrative.
With
appearance, sound and to some degree sense of presence in the
narrative dealt with by VR, then our focus turns to embodiment.
Whilst VR removes an immense number of technical challenges
for sex robot developers, in some ways it is removing the easiest
challenge of all which is the simplest physical representation
of the sex partner, that is another human. If a sex robot needs
to have a humanlike embodiment, then there are already potential
options under development. Abyss Creations have had considerable
success with RealDoll, a high-end product at $12k or more. RealDolls
are realistic lifelike products, except that the dolls are static,
inanimate objects, devoid of life. RealDoll dolls are posable
-- but still and quiet.
Incorporating
robotics into such dolls is possible. Where humanoid robots
are created, such as by Ishiguro’s lab, the results may
provide lifelike behaviour, but the insides are full of hard
electronics without sexual functionality. RealDoll have been
investing heavily in AI and doll robotics. Like many contemplating
love and sex with robots their focus is not just on the physical,
but also on improving the dolls ability to socially interact
including verbally and to exhibit and respond to affect. There
are rumours that Abyss Creations will release a RealDoll that
is a sex robot in 2017, however, with the mechanical challenges
significant, the goal of achieving a sensual, quasi-realistic
sexual experience with lifelike humans resolving hardware issues
from noise to texture to heat still seems unlikely in the near
future. With dolls not affordable and VR able to mitigate the
challenge of auditory and visual embodiment, then should this
change what the physical embodiment of the sex robot could be?
Do we need a whole body or even a body at all? If our requirements
are for the robot to facilitate sexual activity, should we focus
on sexual stimuli and thus the sexual embodiment of the robot,
focusing on SexTech’s potential to morph into the basis
of a sex robot.
Sex toys and particularly teledildonics offer considerable potential
for the sex robot. Although they have been primarily aimed at
long distance lovers, with a human representing their embodiment
through the teledildonic such devices are equally relevant for
interactive virtual sex with a character. There has been some
use of them in sex games, such as those by SOM with linked teledildonics
using sensors to provide relevant feedback to the application.
TENGA have gone further providing linked VR via headset and
teledildonics offering an interactive, immersive experience.
And with a much stronger pornographic feel is Pornhub’s
Twerking Butt, which includes a VR headset and sex toy with
a range of options and narratives.
RECONSIDERING
THE APPEARANCE OF THE SEX ROBOT
A key
element of sexual pleasure for many relates to the visual experience.
We currently naturally see sexual activity in terms of one another
and our physical makeup and design. However, just as the perfect
robotic paint sprayer looks little like us in its most effective
implementation, why would we expect the robotic sexual partner
to look like us? Do we really need aesthetically pleasing robots
that look like attractive sex partners? And even if we don’t,
would we want to have sex with something that looked operational
and factory spec? Very few teledildonics are attractive; they
typically look like crude, sex toys with a clear functional
goal. However, this is no longer an issue, no need to keep our
eyes tight closed and work hard on the imagination and fantasy…
instead we just gaze into the Oculus Rift with an engaging pornographic
narrative providing a new user experience of sex. If we look
at robots used in domestic situations, we can see that our views
of robot appearance tailored by sci-fi TV, books and films are
delightfully absurd. The robot that actually hoovers the house
has little visual resemblance to a maid, yet they do the job
well. And so, if a well-designed robot could do the sexual job
well, why are we waiting for Jude Law as the AI Gigolo? And
if it is him we are waiting for, can’t that just be via
a VR feed? By removing the need for the robot to look lifelike
by providing it via alternative technology such as via a VR
headset we completely free up the requirements for the physical
embodiment of the robot.
Whilst
there is much interest in interactive virtual sex, such experiences
typically require the participants to be real rather than robots.
Where characters replace avatars the approach tends to be relatively
simplistic, with user input often limited to story world selection,
partner (character) appearance with a limited number of alternate
endings. To achieve good robot pornography requires increased
sensory input for the user and autonomous sexual reciprocity
from the robot rather than simplistic teledildonics tied to
a script providing more or less the same experience to all users.
There
have been significant advances in physical computing, with increasingly
sensitive sensors and actuators. With the current trend in the
sex toy market to gather user data, the understanding and application
of effective sexual mechanics will increase. Whilst there is
concern about this data use, most users are content for their
data to be used to improve the next model.
For
the sex robot, data will be key, initially in establishing parameters,
actions and behaviours with their various physical embodiments.
Then, as interaction history develops, the robot will need to
respond in line with the user’s requirements and expectations.
In some ways, this will be similar to training a speech recognizer.
With this adaptation, the sex robot will provide a personalized
sexual experience of the pornographic narrative based on the
user’s preferences. And this will be key for the sex robot
used in pornography, with many porn users watching a wide variety
of pornography across a range of genres. This variety is a significant
issue for the sex robot, as most users will want to be able
to engage in multiple experiences using the same technological
set-up. Just as with games consoles users will want to interact
with a range of narratives and a variety of characters through
the single robot. Thus, if the requirement changes from the
perfect single sex partner to something that can be many sex
partners, then the issue is can the robot morph physically representing
multiple lovers rather than does the robot look like a particular
individual.
Fundamentally
a robot is a physically embodied entity with some degree of
autonomy in behaviour and interaction. Further, and of particular
importance for sexual activity, that this embodiment must enable
physical, sexual activity and this physicality must include
more than visual and auditory stimuli. Whilst for sex robots
this can result in quasi-human designs, for example in the form
of sensor filled dolls that could synch with and act out virtual
character’s moves whilst providing haptic feedback, there
are alternatives. As we move away from the sex robot companion
ideal towards the requirements for an interactive experience
of pornography provided by an ensemble of sexually arousing
narrative, VR, SexTech and robots, we must resist our functional
fixedness to the human body as the provider of sexual experience.
Recent developments in soft robotics could mean that rather
than our traditional AI gigolo what we actually need is a wearable
robot moulded intimately to ourselves. For engaging in sexual
activity wearable robots offer an interesting avenue, with soft
robotics having potential to enhance haptics and teledildonics.
Thus, why not design a sex robot as a wearable, soft robot,
able to morph and change as required, in line with the user’s
needs and requirements and the pornographic narrative. Coupled
with an immersive VR experience solving the visual and auditory
challenges, particularly removing the issue of the aesthetic
of the robot this integration offers considerable potential
for providing a novel porn experience, one that could include
significant interactivity. Whilst soft and wearable robots are
still at a relatively early stage and developed primarily within
the health and defense sectors, they do offer real potential
as a device for pornographic interactivity. Wearing a soft robot,
packed full of biosensors and technology could enable the robot
to provide intimate pleasure tailored both to the narrative
in the watched pornography and to the responses of the user.
This symbiosis of soft robot and human would allow the robot
to focus its autonomous intentions and behaviours to meeting
the user’s non-visual and non-audio sexual pleasure requirements
and expectations, offering touch and feel sensations. This is
challenging for a robot as it will need to support a wide range
of pornographic experiences rather than just one. This may be
possible with wearable soft robots, however, intuitively it
can be suggested additional haptic interfaces will be needed
to enable users to experience shape and texture.
SWEETENING
THE CONCEPT
By
integrating sex with robots and pornography, creating robot
porn, we need to consider the terminology and its potential
impact. With the negative connotations and strong anti-porn
lobby are we doing robots a disservice by tagging them with
porn? Instead, could we suggest we are actually creating robots
to support masturbation and personal sexual gratification? Although
masturbation has received its share of bad press, there is general
acceptance that it is not intrinsically harmful, whilst porn
is still often viewed as deviant. However, it is still something
that is distasteful for many, with limited social discussion.
Or instead, could we say that as an important element of pornography
is fantasy, that we are providing fantasy sex robots. This is
so much more pleasant as a term than porn robots and clearly
distinguishes these robots, which are intended for love free
encounters, from robots developed for other types of sex.
This
sanitization to sexual experience enhanced through technology
rather than some strange kink such as robotporn may even enable
us more easily to talk about our experiences . . . “I
did that new fantasy XXX the other night.” Undoubtedly
robot porn will gain its own terminology, with the press already
highlighting the likely dangers of this approach. The Porn Industry
don’t give a damn, their eyes are on the money and this
is clearly a massively lucrative area. And more, this investment
from the porn sector will impact significantly on almost any
other interactive experience. The technologies developed to
improve the porn experience will have valuable applications
in sectors such as games and interactive movies.
DISCUSSION
SugarDVD
claim that they are “pioneering the future of what sex
looks like.” So, what should we do? Should we engage or
should we hold back and let the porn sector decide what users
will want. The merger of pornography and human-robot interaction
should provide a tailored experience through multiple possible
narrative contexts meeting the user’s sexual expectations
in terms of pace, skills and experiences. This combination of
robotics, pornography, soft robots, teledildonics, sensors and
other technologies would provide a new form of sexual experience.
Engaging with pornographic media would be extended from an audio-visual
watching experience to an immersive engagement with completely
realistic audio visual quality, tactile and sensory stimulation,
responsive interactivity and a very enjoyable new form of leisure
sex.
This
new outlet for leisure sex has no relevance to love and human
relationships but instead provides the user with a novel sexual
experience. There will always be those who raise issues such
as technology addiction, but would this fantasy sex robot be
addictive? If the robot was social and emotional then yes this
could be really addictive, but if it just offered you good sex?
Perhaps to some, but these will be few, although there has always
been plentiful moral outrage about the impacts of porn. Would
this wearable soft robot give you unrealistic expectations of
what to expect in sexual encounters. Possibly, but for most
of us, no.
With
pornography having primarily negative connotations, unsurprisingly
robotics has largely remained shy of this area with a lack of
research focus on creating robots that could enhance the pornographic
experience. Although pornography is often viewed through a negative
lens in robotics we should avoid such a response and instead
perceive of pornography neutrally and as a way of obtaining
investment to develop technology that will significantly change
the user experience both for pornography and interactions in
many other domains.
THE
FUTURE IS NOW
The
use of robots for pornography is inevitable and underway, thus
it would be eminently sensible for robotics to engage with an
established, durable and growing sector with finance available
for creating porn robots. Whilst there will still be a market
for high end life like sex robots, this essay proposes an alternative,
moving away from the robot’s appearance to the sexual
experience. By integrating soft and wearable robots, VR headsets,
haptics and teledildonics in a pornographic narrative, a new
experience can be provided targeting sexual pleasure requirements
across a range of senses other than audio and visual. Such developments
will have significant value and application beyond the porn
sector with clear relevance to domains such as video games,
virtual worlds and interactive movies.
