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

• Main Authors: Koumpis Adamantios, Gees Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2020-06-01
• Series: Paladyn: Journal of Behavioral Robotics
• Subjects: human-robot interaction; sex; older persons; healthy ageing
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0009

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.