Topic: Sex and love in the age of robots (Read 381 times)

In a world full of 3D-printed organs, internet-connected homes, and cars that drive themselves, there's one futuristic technological development that is sorely missing: the robot.

Sure, we have digital assistants like Siri and Google Now, but they're anything but user-friendly. And if you want to hang out with an actual physical robot, they're either only available at the highest level of the military or dumbed-down to the point of silliness (see: the Roomba circling your living room).

Naturally, something we've long wanted to task robots with is sex. From Austin Powers' Fembots to Metropolis's Maria, the idea of creating something out of wires and metal to become our companion continues to surface. Pop culture resurrects this idea repeatedly, sometimes portraying robots as mere sexual objects (Weird Science) but more often using them to comment on the transition of our digital devices from utilitarian to something more meaningful (Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction).

Maybe the reason why we don't have mass-produced robots is because we're still not certain what we'd want to do with them. Do we want a Jetsons-like maid to do our bidding? An assistant? A teacher? An assembly-line worker? Do we want robots to be our friends? Or do we want them to be friends with benefits?

More...http://theweek.com/articles/553708/sex-love-age-robots