Sex robots could make men not women obsolete, according to a top mathematician.
Dr Cathy O’Neil from Harvard University claims females of the future could get spoiled by ‘dashing menbots’ who also do the dishes.
It’s a basic human need to want someone to love and have sex with but most women also look for someone who does their fair share of chores around the house.
The mathematician says it is ‘entirely possible’ that robots will outperform men and women of the future could choose to live with menbots instead.
Dr Cathy O’Neil from Harvard University claims females of the future could get spoiled by ‘dashing menbots’ who also do the dishes (stock image)
There are around five makers of sex robots worldwide, with prices ranging from around £4,000 ($5,400) to more than £11,600 ($15,700) for a ‘deluxe’ model.
The market for sexbots is currently 95 per cent male dominated but that could all be about to change.
‘I think it’s the men who should be worried. It’s entirely possible that robots can outperform them’, said Dr Cathy O’Neil who has a PhD in mathematics from Harvard University.
‘In the #MeToo age, I feel like raising standards is quite reasonable. It’s called for, in fact’, she said, writing for Bloomberg.
Contrary to what the name suggests, not everyone will use their doll purely for sex.
And these robots could be good at doing the dishes and other household chores, Dr O’Neil said.
Despite the dangers of hackers turning sex robots into killers she believes that would not make them more of a threat than real men.
‘Given the baseline murder rate for human sexual partners, it’s hard to get too worried.
‘Plus, if they can understand female anatomy — I mean, really understand it — maybe it’s worth the risk’, Dr O’Neil said.
The Harvard mathemetician suggested that women and men may coexist but not cohabitate. As a result she believes this could make us stronger as a community.
‘We’ll come together, online or in person, and be more respectful, more relaxed, less edgy. It’s worth a try. So bring on the sex robots’, she said.
The mathematician says it is ‘entirely possible’ that robots will outperform men and women of the future could choose to live with menbots instead
Currently men are more willing to have sex with a robot than women are. One US survey of 100 people that found two-thirds of males aged 20-61 would have sex with a robot, compared with a third of women.
While they are becoming ever more realistic, scientists say it could be 50 years before robots are able to move and talk spontaneously like a partner and have facial expressions that look truly human.
Some psychologists suggest that sexual relations with robots will ‘desensitise humans to intimacy and empathy’.
This was the warning from Noel Sharkey, emeritus professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, and Dr Aimee van Wynsberghe, assistant professor in ethics and technology at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, as they launched a report on the issue last year.
Dr Sharkey, who is a co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics with Dr van Wynsberghe, said: ‘There’s a robotics revolution in all fields – service, agriculture, flying and sex. They are all part and parcel of the same thing.’
Politicians and the public need to understand and deal with the ethical issues that sex robots will pose to society and relationships, the experts urged.