Musings on the future of sex work... Artificial Intelligence VS. Human Connection

[SweetBree]

Some questions for the Perb community on AI and prostitution....I'd love to start a discussion on this.

I recently found myself watching the film ExMachina - anyone here see it? I don't usually go in for SF film, but found this one quiet, and thoughtful on human nature and technology, specifically AI-human relations, of the emotional and sexual kind. I also enjoyed the movie Her a few years ago, also on the same topic.

And then... this morning I read a pretty interesting and intelligent article in the Guardian on the topic of creating robots for sexual purposes. In my nerdy academic other world I've researched on sexuality, gender and technology before and thus found interest from my two worlds colliding.

Read it here

The guardian article suggests that we will have robots for sexual purposes within 5 years.
This teledildonics (yes its a real word) technology is already being used for smart sex toys... and bet some of you know a thing of two about this already. On the forefront is a company called RealDoll. Seems like a sex robot will cost about 10,000-20,000$ and you can even customize a lot...nipple size and shape, etc.

What interested me mainly about this topic is the ethical edges of it. The author suggests that robots may wipe out the need for prostitution in the future. Detractors suggest, from an anthropological view, that human intimacy can never be replaced.

Given that I specialize in human connection as Sweet Bree (well, don't get me wrong I love the physical part of the mind-body connection), I'm very curious about what others thing about this. Being a unique human with an ego of sorts... of course I think I could never be replaced. But could I?

Does anyone actually believe that an AI friends could replace human contact, thus rendering this hobby obsolete?

As we are 5-6 years away from this as an option... would you even try it?

Heady thoughts for a gloomy Sunday....
Love to hear your responses.

 

[badbadboy]

Hi Bree, long time

I watched the exMachina recently and the concept seemed plausible.

I work in a high tech environment and the software guys I deal with are quite interested in robotics, AI and Internet related business concepts such as this one lol. They are primarily code writers for telecom so anything like this is a lot more interesting. Being male geeks they have done some cursory investigation along those lines. So far they are thinking it's really not too far off based upon the things being accomplished in the gaming industry, Google, Mercedes etc with their driverless cars and all the Apps written for mobile applications.

The 3D headsets are everywhere now and costs are already starting to come down. Whole body suits with monitored sensors are being used for CGI applications in the movie industry for the past five years or so.

Biggest influencer to step up would be the porn industry. To my knowledge there hasn't been anything mentioned along those lines.

So basically all the tools are already in place or at least close.

And it's definitely no for me. I need that human touch, the mutual smiles, sighs and ultimate inevitable orgasms.

Your job is quite safe from old school guys like me

 

[wilde]

Watch the series Humans. There is a story line involving robot sex workers that I found very interesting.

 

[hankmoody]

Sorry couldn't resist.

Seriously thou from what i've heard it's coming. Doubt it will replace you right away Bree but i can see it affecting the market.
I found HER (movie) quite powerful so it's hard to say without experiencing.

 

[MissingOne]

I'm a bit of a geek, albeit from an earlier generation (Fortran, anybody?), but for me, no. The knowledge that I was dealing with a construct rather than a human would be a turn-off.

And what about privacy? How would one know that the software in one's sex-toy isn't transmitting all of the activities back to Micro-Face-Google-book headquarters, or even worse, various government agencies? Sex with your toy in the morning, and by the afternoon your email inbox is full of ads from companies who just happened to notice that, hey, you had a bit of trouble getting hard, and their product is just what you need to fix that. Followed by a notice from CRA that you seem to have a new "girlfriend", but they have no record that you ever paid the GST on her/it. Or the recycling fee, of course.

 

[hornygandalf]

Not for me as I want a real connection, and I doubt that will ever be possible with a robot.

But, there are some men who have difficulties connecting and this may well be sufficient for them.

 

[yazoo]

I read that article today as well and it got me thinking as well. Actually some of the comments were more thought provoking than the article itself - a rarity.

But I think that many people miss the point. Maybe only us in the P4P world get it.

There are two things that we want out of human relationships. 1)Emotional/Sexual fulfillment and a 2)life partner that we can count on no matter what. Some may say 3) Drinking buddies - but that isn't always part of a commitment relationship. Somehow we try to squeeze these requirements into one person. Inevitably compromises have to be made. Some of us choose a reliable, 100% trustworthy life partner who isn't exactly stellar in the sex department. Others choose incredibly attractive person who rocks in the bedroom, but can't really be relied upon to be true.

AI sex dolls, sufficiently perfected offer both sexes 100% sexual satisfaction, stripping that requirement from the selection criterion in a potential partner.

But sexual satisfaction, and emotional satisfaction are intertwined. Can an AI be sophisticated enough to offer this? Or can AI robots (male and female) be incorporated into a future relationship?

I'm really looking forward to the future, and trying it out, especially if they look like Kyoko.

 

[meaghanmcleodDELETED]

Sorry couldn't resist.

Seriously thou from what i've heard it's coming. Doubt it will replace you right away Bree but i can see it affecting the market.
I found HER quite powerful.

Hilarious. Thank you. Xo

 

[papillion]

Some questions for the Perb community on AI and prostitution....I'd love to start a discussion on this.

I recently found myself watching the film ExMachina - anyone here see it? I don't usually go in for SF film, but found this one quiet, and thoughtful on human nature and technology, specifically AI-human relations, of the emotional and sexual kind. I also enjoyed the movie Her a few years ago, also on the same topic.

And then... this morning I read a pretty interesting and intelligent article in the Guardian on the topic of creating robots for sexual purposes. In my nerdy academic other world I've researched on sexuality, gender and technology before and thus found interest from my two worlds colliding.

Read it here

The guardian article suggests that we will have robots for sexual purposes within 5 years.
This teledildonics (yes its a real word) technology is already being used for smart sex toys... and bet some of you know a thing of two about this already. On the forefront is a company called RealDoll. Seems like a sex robot will cost about 10,000-20,000$ and you can even customize a lot...nipple size and shape, etc.

What interested me mainly about this topic is the ethical edges of it. The author suggests that robots may wipe out the need for prostitution in the future. Detractors suggest, from an anthropological view, that human intimacy can never be replaced.

Given that I specialize in human connection as Sweet Bree (well, don't get me wrong I love the physical part of the mind-body connection), I'm very curious about what others thing about this. Being a unique human with an ego of sorts... of course I think I could never be replaced. But could I?

Does anyone actually believe that an AI friends could replace human contact, thus rendering this hobby obsolete?

As we are 5-6 years away from this as an option... would you even try it?

Heady thoughts for a gloomy Sunday....
Love to hear your responses.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HdrHNi7tCwQ
Right now, there aren't realistic sexbots, BUT, they're coming.
Will they ever fully replace a human sex trade worker? NO. Not in our lifetime.
In the far future? maybe, remember Priss from "Blade Runner?"

 

[sdw]

What an interesting topic for a rainy Saturday.

I don't believe there will ever be a robot that will replicate all of the interactive posibilities between two biological entities. Not that I'm a science denier, or don't have a healthy fascination with science fiction, but I don't believe the technology will be possible in the time frame of our existence (we're far more likely to blow ourselves up or destroy life on this plant through biogenetics, before someone replicated human interaction.

5 years? Impossible. It'll be the sexual equivalent of my old Atari system or Pong (compared to UA sports ).

Will it develop ? Sure. Will there be applications or "life like" replicas. There already are. Innovations in tactile materials, robotics, sensor technology and AI will drive innovation. Blow up dolls will go high tech but they will be a long way from a robots being anything more than anthropomorphic replicas.

Far more likely is the rapid adoption of technology enhanced sexual aids like teledildonics (check out Vibease.com). Vibrating panties. Audio books whose erotic passages are coordinated with vibrator action. Being able to send digital vibration sensations to your GF while on your phone or Android. These will serve women as much, if not more, than men.

The place I'd keep my eye on is Japan, and then China. Given Japanese technological capabilities, a shortage of comfort women, the immature ( and odd) relationship some Japanese men have with women , it's the likely breeding ground for early adoption of near perfect Anime-like robots.

China is the other place. There's a huge adult population bubble coming with a shortage of women and generations of pampered "single child" men who may never have a wife. What's the alternative ( short of starting a world war ...see point above ).

In our culture there will be an increasing role for these "tools" as they develop and, if you look at sexual services as a continuum from basic low-cost aids, all the way up to high end SP services at the upper end of the market, the likely sector where it will take hold will be the Low end market.

Those men who aspire to higher end GFE type relations ( like you) with a living breathing intelligent woman will NEVER be fully satisfied by an artificial replacement ( although I can think of a few SP's who might qualify as automatons today

Before we'd ever see that, it's far more likely that real live women would be classified as a natural resource and, once the world no longer needs oil, China will invade Easten Europe to get at all those sexy Romanian and Russian women.

Completely ridiculous, I agree, but just as likely as a robot convincing me that they really did come.

Agree, but you haven't thought far enough ahead. The men that are happy with bargain sex at AMPs and Asian Micros won't even notice the difference with a nice, compliant robot. They'd even be able to program their robot to do the "cat bath" routine one day and the DATO routine the next day.

Robots, when perfected, will kill the low end sex market. Anyone that uses that market knows how thinly many of the SPs disguise their disgust with their clients. Robots won't ask if you are ready to come after the first 30 seconds or complain about your body odour or breath.

The men that see the middle and upper market ladies are mostly paying for fantasy. If all they want is sex, sex can be obtained for $120. Feeling like you are dating a woman that actually likes you is worth the extra money. Feeding a woman and then taking her to a show that she talks about on the way to her place is worth a lot more money. Robots won't be able to do those fantasies. Hell, most SPs can't do those fantasies. Instead, they look at the elite ladies and wonder what makes her worth all that money.

 

[Larry Storch]

Watch the series Humans. There is a story line involving robot sex workers that I found very interesting.

Beat me to it. Excellent series.

There are some ladies who are hard pressed to display human emotion and interaction during a session. I can't see a machine with software putting anyone at risk of being replaced any time soon.

Will it happen? Hard to say with so many other factors affecting our future.

Predictions about where technology will be in "X" years usually miss the mark by decades.
Weren't we all supposed to be piloting flying cars by now?

 

[working-man]

This reminds of the classic movie "Blade Runner" with Harrison Ford. Only in a movie that this can happen. Is it ethical to deactivate the Replicant that can feel and have "planted" memories and now can "love"?

Can AI robots replace humans? Not in my life time. The technology just can't complete with an unpredictable human emotion. We are human because we have a soul that can't be replicated by algorithms and such.

Sure toys and mechanical robots can be pleasurable but for me nothing can replace that human connection between two (or three or four!) consenting adults in a sexual encounter or companionship.

My 2 cents...

 

[Poonian]

Sorry couldn't resist.

That was absolutely priceless. I'm laughing so hard I have tears running down my face lol.

 

[TryingHard]

My thinking around AI and its possibilities in the future recently changed after reading this two part blog post:

The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence

In short (very short), the real danger (promise?) with AI is the exponential growth pattern associated with it's intelligence. Essentially, we will see the AI of computers growing but not really understand by how much and then very quickly it zooms past human intelligence. At that point, you can't put the genie back in the bottle, you have to live with the consequences.

Of course, the article does a much better job explaining this and I highly recommend the read.

As it applies to this industry, I would see AI completely disrupting the low to middle end of the market eventually. This will segment the market, with the good news for Bree, likely driving the high end of the market even higher. I think the market rational around pricing will be something similar to "You want to just get off, their are lots of AI players for $xxx, but if you want a real experience with a genuine woman that will be $xxxx". Of course, I have no idea what those prices will be but their are lots of real world markets where this type of segmentation has been brought about by technological disruption. Blockbuster Video anyone?

I am wondering if this might win an award for "strangest first post"!

 

[sdw]

My thinking around AI and its possibilities in the future recently changed after reading this two part blog post:

The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence

In short (very short), the real danger (promise?) with AI is the exponential growth pattern associated with it's intelligence. Essentially, we will see the AI of computers growing but not really understand by how much and then very quickly it zooms past human intelligence. At that point, you can't put the genie back in the bottle, you have to live with the consequences.

Of course, the article does a much better job explaining this and I highly recommend the read.

As it applies to this industry, I would see AI completely disrupting the low to middle end of the market eventually. This will segment the market, with the good news for Bree, likely driving the high end of the market even higher. I think the market rational around pricing will be something similar to "You want to just get off, their are lots of AI players for $xxx, but if you want a real experience with a genuine woman that will be $xxxx". Of course, I have no idea what those prices will be but their are lots of real world markets where this type of segmentation has been brought about by technological disruption. Blockbuster Video anyone?

I am wondering if this might win an award for "strangest first post"!

I think it will be just like the personal computer. My first IBM XT, the Hard Drives, Tape Drive and Printer cost $5000. I think that "Dolly", her optional skins and her "Scene" chips will cost - - $5000. If all you want is the equivalent of a Asian Micro Girl, your costs after that will be just for maintenance and cleaning. It will take a few years, but a "Dolly" personal companion will have the same upgrade path as a personal computer. Electronic Arts, Sony and Disney will be selling chips so that PC owners will be able to play quite a collection of Scenes.

The middle level of sex workers will be forced to up their game, but people will always want to fuck other people if they can afford it. The High End, Elite Companions won't be affected all that much. There is quite a spread of donations and services in the High End and there always will be.