Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons

In this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex ro...

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Main Authors: Koumpis Adamantios, Gees Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2020-06-01
Series:Paladyn
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0009
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author Koumpis Adamantios
Gees Thomas
author_facet Koumpis Adamantios
Gees Thomas
author_sort Koumpis Adamantios
collection DOAJ
description In this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.
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spelling doaj.art-40cdd40b1b7f4009950b9f2bf709461f2023-12-02T10:35:52ZengDe GruyterPaladyn2081-48362020-06-0111122823210.1515/pjbr-2020-0009pjbr-2020-0009Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older personsKoumpis Adamantios0Gees Thomas1Institute Digital Enabling, Bern University of Applied Sciences Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute Digital Enabling, Bern University of Applied Sciences Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandIn this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0009human-robot interactionsexolder personshealthy ageing
spellingShingle Koumpis Adamantios
Gees Thomas
Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
Paladyn
human-robot interaction
sex
older persons
healthy ageing
title Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
title_full Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
title_fullStr Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
title_full_unstemmed Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
title_short Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
title_sort sex with robots a not so niche market for disabled and older persons
topic human-robot interaction
sex
older persons
healthy ageing
url https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0009
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