The symposium „Applied AI in Healthcare: Safety, Community, and the Environment“ will be held within the AAAI Spring Symposia on March 22-23, 2021. One of the presentations is titled „Care Robots with Sexual Assistance Functions“. Author of the paper is Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. From the abstract: „Residents in retirement and nursing homes have sexual needs just like other people. However, the semi-public situation makes it difficult for them to satisfy these existential concerns. In addition, they may not be able to meet a suitable partner or find it difficult to have a relationship for mental or physical reasons. People who live or are cared for at home can also be affected by this problem. Perhaps they can host someone more easily and discreetly than the residents of a health facility, but some elderly and disabled people may be restricted in some ways. This article examines the opportunities and risks that arise with regard to care robots with sexual assistance functions. First of all, it deals with sexual well-being. Then it presents robotic systems ranging from sex robots to care robots. Finally, the focus is on care robots, with the author exploring technical and design issues. A brief ethical discussion completes the article. The result is that care robots with sexual assistance functions could be an enrichment of the everyday life of people in need of care, but that we also have to consider some technical, design and moral aspects.“ More information about the AAAI Spring Symposia is available at aaai.org/Symposia/Spring/sss21.php.
In October 2020 the book “Maschinenliebe” (ed. Oliver Bendel) was published by Springer. The title means “Machine Love”, “Machines for Love” or “Machines of Love”. Three contributions are in English. One of them (“Intimate Relationships with Humanoid Robots”) is by Yuefang Zhou and Martin H. Fischer (University of Potsdam). From the abstract: “The topic of human-robot intimate relationships is not only an intensely emotional one that is present in the mass media because of its ability to stir excitement. The very same topic also requires our understanding of basic mechanisms of the human mind and of social cognition in particular. A scientifically-minded framing of the debate around whether and how we might engage in intimate relationships with humanoid robots in the near future might in turn improve our understanding of human sexuality. Viewed from this angle, intimate human-robot interaction is then merely one of many examples of studying human-machine interactions for the benefit of users and as a means of improving our knowledge about humans and the human mind. In this chapter we will adopt such a stance and discuss both social-cognitive and sexual aspects of this innovative topic, review available empirical evidence and offer some suggestions for further research.” More information via www.springer.com/de/book/9783658298630.
In October 2020 the book „Maschinenliebe“ (ed. Oliver Bendel) was published by Springer. The title means „Machine Love“, „Machines for Love“ or „Machines of Love“. Three contributions are in English. One of them („Guys and Dolls“) is by Kate Devlin and Chloé Locatelli (King’s College London). From the abstract: „This chapter explores the creators and potential consumers of sex robots. With Realbotix as our case study, we take a closer look at the language and sentiments of those developing the technology and those who are testing, consuming, or showing an interest in it. We do this by means of website and chat forum analysis, and via interviews with those involved. From this, we can see the motivation for developing a sexual companion robot places the emphasis firmly on the companionship aspect, and that those involved in creating and consuming the products share an ideology of intimacy and affection, with sexual gratification only playing a minor role.“ More information via www.springer.com/de/book/9783658298630.
On 24 October 2020 the article „Love Dolls and Sex Robots in Unproven and Unexplored Fields of Application“ by Oliver Bendel was published in Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics. From the Abstract: „Love dolls, the successors of blow-up dolls, are widespread. They can be ordered online or bought in sex shops and can be found in brothels and households. Sex robots are also on the rise. Research, however, has been slow to address this topic thoroughly. Often, it does not differentiate between users and areas of application, remaining vague, especially in the humanities and social sciences. The present contribution deals with the idea and history of love dolls and sex robots. Against this background, it identifies areas of application that have not been investigated or have hardly been investigated at all. These include prisons, the military, monasteries and seminaries, science, art and design as well as the gamer scene. There is, at least, some relevant research about the application of these artefacts in nursing and retirement homes and as such, these will be given priority. The use of love dolls and sex robots in all these fields is outlined, special features are discussed, and initial ethical, legal and pragmatic considerations are made. It becomes clear that artificial love servants can create added value, but that their use must be carefully considered and prepared. In some cases, their use may even be counterproductive.” The article is available here for free as an open access publication.
Fig.: The creator and his creature (photo: Realbotix)
The international workshop „Learning from Humanoid AI: Motivational, Social & Cognitive Perspectives“ took place from 30 November – 1 December 2019 at the University of Potsdam. Dr. Jessica Szczuka raised the question: „What do men and women see in sex robots?“ … Some sentences from the abstract: „What do we see when we look at a sexualized robot? The presentation will focus on first empirical results on the visual perception of sexualized robots but will also share some insights on whether women do perceive sexualized robots as a potential threat to an existing romantic relationship and their own self-concept. Both aspects, the visual perception but also the social perception are crucial in order to understand the role sexualized robots may have in our society. Moreover, the role of the human-likeness of sex robots will be discussed.“ (Website Workshop) In her talk, Szczuka demonstrated „empirical evidences on the visual perception of sexualized robots and their potential to evoke jealousy in women“. She confronted 848 heterosexual women with the statement „Imagine you found out that your partner had sex with a human-like or a machine-like sex robot.“ … The results „revealed dimensions in which the jealousy-related discomfort was higher for female competitors compared to the robotic ones (e.g., discomfort caused by the idea of sexual intercourse), whereas in others the robots evoked the same or higher levels of jealousy-related discomfort (e.g., discomfort caused by feelings of inadequacy, discomfort caused by shared emotional and time resources)“ (Szczuka and Krämer 2018).
„Erotik 4.0 – Gedankenspiel Sexroboter“ lautet der Titel einer Sendung bei SRF 2 Kultur, die am 13. Juni 2018 ab 9 Uhr ausgestrahlt wird. „In Dortmund gibt es ein Sexpuppen-Bordell, in Barcelona sogar schon ein Sexroboter-Bordell. Der Roboterphilosoph Oliver Bendel findet diese Entwicklung gefährlich. Denn noch wissen wir nicht, welche Folgen Sexroboter für uns Menschen haben, die empirische Forschung fehlt noch.“ (Website SRF) Er spricht sich nicht gegen die Entwicklung aus, sondern ist eben dafür, Forschung in diesem Bereich zu betreiben und die Anwendung genau im Auge zu behalten. In der „Kontext“-Sendung geht es zunächst um Harmony. „Wer ist sie und was kann sie?“ Dann wird die Frage gestellt: „Wie soll der Sexroboter aussehen?“ Oliver Bendel denkt laut über das Aussehen von Sexrobotern abseits der Stereotype nach. Schließlich findet ein „Gedankenspiel“ statt, und KI-Experte und Schachmeister David Levy, Roboterethikerin Kathleen Richardson und Roboterphilosoph Oliver Bendel kommen zu Wort. Weitere Informationen über www.srf.ch/sendungen/kontext/erotik-4-0-gedankenspiel-sexroboter.
