Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-robot Relationships

Citation

Sullins, J.P. (2010), "Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-robot Relationships", Industrial Robot, Vol. 37 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2010.04937dae.001

Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-robot Relationships

Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-robot Relationships

Article Type: Book review From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 37, Issue 4

David LevyHarperCollinsLondon2008$14.95352 pp.ISBN: 9780061359804Web site: www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061359804/Love_and_Sex_with_Robots/index.aspx,

Yes, robot love is a common science fiction trope, but David Levy’s Love and Sex with Robots is not a flight of fantasy. The author, David Levy, recognizes the high chuckle factor of his subject matter but instead of giving into the lurid, he takes his readers on a rational and thorough argument in favor of the inevitability of human-robot relationships.

Levy begins his argument with a review of the accepted psychology of love and attraction between humans. He reports that there are ten factors that influence human relationships such as similarity in habits, education, attitudes, etc. as well as physical attraction, reciprocal feelings, physical and vocal cues, just to name a few. Levy then spends much of the book showing that each of these factors can be functionally duplicated through robotic technology, making it possible to design the perfect match for each and every person that wants one and, I assume, can afford one.

Levy agrees with E.O. Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis, which concludes that there are strong evolutionary causes for our predisposition to be interested in developing caring relationships for creatures outside our own species. As it turns out, talking to, and loving our pets has given our species increased Darwinian fitness, as evidenced by the great symbiotic partnerships our species has formed primarily with dogs but also with many other creatures as well. So, by extrapolation, a robot that can tap into the same deep evolutionary drives in humans that dogs and other pets trigger, then it must follow that humans would form relationships at least as real and moving as those we have with our beloved pets. Anyone who has interacted with a robot like the famous Sony Aibo might agree to a point. Those machines do elicit emotional attachment from some of their users but these relationships can only go so far due to the fact that real dogs can still do so much more than an Aibo. Still, Levy sees these kinds of robot-human interactions that are possible today as only the first small step of a very long potential journey we might undertake with virtual pets of both the software and robotic variety.

Levy’s next step is to provide evidence that for some people, computers and other bits of machinery already provide enough stimulus for certain people to form deep emotional attachments to them. The great sociologist of the cyber age, Sherry Turkle has reported on a number of individuals who, for various psychological reasons, prefer the company of computers to other people. While the rest of society might consider this state of affairs sad or dysfunctional, they might just be early adapters and represent a view of the future of human interpersonal relations. Computer technology is malleable to the wishes of its user. With a little work, the experience can be completely personalized to every conceivable user. A person who is smart with the technology can get it to do what he wants, when he wants. Fellow humans on the other hand, represent a much more difficult problem and do not always readily change to accommodate one’s every need. So, why not take the path of least resistance and interact more and more with digital technology? Levy believes that the logic is irresistible and that as the technology improves and becomes easier to use, cheaper, and fulfills more and more of our needs, humanity will drift en masse towards the happy world of robot love.

The second half of the book is used to explore some of the implications of his arguments and to deal with some counter arguments when it comes to the ultimate human computer interface; sex with robots. To those who argue that this is just too weird and kinky and will never happen, he reminds us that we already, as a species, have fairly low standards when it comes to having sex with inanimate or semi animate mechanical devices. There is a bewildering world of sex toys available to the curious, and this trend shows not signs of abating. There is also a quickly growing industry in high-end luxury love dolls that has succeeded in designing the perfect platform to download virtual lover software into, the minute it becomes available. Levy adds to this fact, some statistics on how many men and women are willing to pay for sex and the surprising reason they do. He cites research that seems to suggest that people want companionship as well as sex from the prostitutes and escorts they hire. Levy argues here that humans in the sex trade will be unable to compete with future robot companions because humans are unwilling and unable to provide the amount of companionship that sex robots could. These robots would presumably be designed and built with the wants needs and desires of their particular user.

Thus, we come to the final step of the argument. If indeed a robot came into one’s life, met your every need, fulfilled every desire, and enjoyed all the same things you did, then certainly you would want to have society recognize this entity as your lawful spouse. It is also at this point where Levy makes his strongest metaphysical statements, which suggest that the robot itself would also genuinely want you as its spouse, given that, by design, its only desires would be to please you and only you, and would be unhappy in any other situation. In a sense he seems to be suggesting it would be unethical to mistreat the robot by not to letting it love and serve its owner.

Like other futurists, Levy suggests that the exponentially accelerating growth of computer and robotics technology will bring about all of these potential technologies sooner than we think, easily within the next century, especially given that finding deep and loving companionship is our most motivating desire. It will become evident to nearly everyone that robots can fulfill this need better than any animal pet or human companion, and when it does let us hope you bought stock early in the company that successfully markets these machines.

This book is well written and its only fault may be that its arguments are too complete, which will turn off the casual reader. Still, academic readers will find this rigor a virtue. Given the truth of his premises, Levy draws the inevitable conclusions. But there is a serious missing component in his analysis. Even if we grant that the exponential growth of computer and robotics technology will overwhelm the significant roadblocks standing in the way of generalized artificial intelligence and artificial life, there are still some important philosophical questions left unasked. Primarily, is it ethical to play on deep-seated human psychological weaknesses put there by evolutionary pressures? It does not seem so. Even if we were to manipulate the user so artfully that they never knew it, it is still manipulation and disrespectful of human agency. Also, what of the human tragedy that would befall as we lost our tolerance to deal with others who are not pre-programmed to serve our every need? Just as Levy argues human prostitutes would be put out of business, so too would we turn away human friends, lovers, and spouses. There is a significant literature on the philosophy of love, friendship and desire that Levy does not cite, which speaks of the deep and nuanced notions of love and the concord of true friendship. Levy instead sketches an engineering scheme that would only satisfice our physical and emotional needs. But is great love exemplified by the cloying adoration of power such as the love of Eva Braun for Hitler, or by the master-slave love of Thomas Jefferson for Sally Hemings? It seems that there is much more to love than this.

Also, as evidenced by the politics of gay marriage around the world, some people are not even ready to accept that any two human agents deserve to have their unions recognized, so how can we expect that machines will have it any easier? I suspect that there will be significant social and religious backlash to robotic marriage that could stall it as a legal concept for many decades. We should be clear about what it is we want from these technologies and how to deal with the foreseeable societal challenges before they are ever released on the unsuspecting public.

I can recommend this book as a provocative read for anyone interested in social impacts of robotics technology.

Editor’s note: In addition to many other accomplishments, Dr David Levy is an international chess master, who won the Loebner Prize in Artificial Intelligence in both 2009 and in 1997, making him the only multiple winner who has a 100 percent record in the event.

John P. SullinsSonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA