AI and Sex: What Could Go Wrong?

WRITTEN BY BOOCHIE POST

In 1739, Jacques de Vaucanson unveiled his digesting duck to the world. His duck could eat kernels of grain, metabolize them, and excrete the waste. But what set his duck apart from the rest of the animal species was its entire mechanical interior, making it one of the first automatons ever made. Vaucanson’s invention marked a new trajectory for technology, and established the existence of what we would call robots today.

Inspired by Vaucanson’s duck, other French inventors began exploring the untouched world of robotic devices. Some found a prosperous market in the realm of sex. It didn’t take long before human bodies were being mechanically mimicked, and “designed to provide substitutes for human genitalia,” to act as surrogate sex partners (Levy). In a conversation with 19th century French author Rene Schwaeblé and one of these inventors called Doctor P, we get insight into how some of the first sex dolls were fashioned.

“Every one of them takes at least three months of my work!... there’s the hair on the head, the body hair, the teeth, the nails… The only thing these haven’t got is the power of speech!” (Levy, 179)

Doctor P’s enthusiastic pride is almost tangible through these written words. His customers undoubtedly shared his enthusiasm. Some would even go as far as requesting dolls that replicated an actual person they desired.

Rene Schwaeblé’s interview with Doctor P raises a number of questions and concerns. Most notably, who has ownership over a particular body? If it was brought to your attention that someone had a sex doll made to your likeness, would you feel your bodily rights were being violated? Moreover, in Doctor P’s words, how is the “power of speech,” or in my words, consent, muddled with the invention and use of sex dolls? Sex dolls do more harm than good for the sex industry. They trivialize the human body and the boundaries and agency that are inherent to each and every one.

While sex robots were invented hundreds of years ago, they didn’t become mainstream until technology and the internet became commonplace. Now, people have an intense attachment with their smart screen, whether that be a phone, tablet, or laptop. Norman Holland, a former literary critic, pointed out this intimate relationship many people have with a computer. He said that humans form bonds with computers more easily than other objects because a computer displays intelligent behavior like another human. Advertently or inadvertently, we project fantasies onto the computer: “phallic fantasies of power and oral fantasies… that the computer is between human and thing.” Holland lists various types of quasi-human relationships that arise with our computer: a helpmate, a genuine friend, a permissive parent, a sex object, or a sex partner. Ultimately, the one in charge of the creation and continuation of the relationship is the only real human: you.

As Holland points out, power is an inherent aspect of these partial-human relationships. The consumer has the power to dictate what the relationship entails, while the computer remains in a passive, compliant state. With this in mind, it is apparent how this relationship is mirrored in the sex industry, most notably with sex robots and their consumers. David Levy, chess master and artificial intelligence connoisseur, believes that the interest in sex robots stems from the control the consumer has in all aspects. In a typical sex worker-client encounter, the sex worker charges an hourly rate, as well as an increased pay depending on the client’s special preferences. In the case of a robot-client interaction, the monetary association dissipates in the client’s mind. They pay once, and the client can live out their most heinous fantasies without having to pay anything extra. The intrigue in the robot experience also stems from the fact that they are programmed to express affection and other emotions that are entirely convincing. There is no deliberation whether the robot desires to leave, or is second guessing the blowjob they’re giving, because that’s what they’re quite literally made to do.

As we continue to program more and more advanced computers and artificial intelligence, what will happen to the advancement of sex robots? Will manufacturers grant them consciousness? How will this complicate our conceptions of agency and consent? My hope is the market for sex robots will drop and disappear. Consumers of this market possess an inordinate amount of control and power over another body once they’ve made their purchase. While the doll’s complete composition is mechanical, they are made to appear entirely real. This poses a sincere danger: buyers will assume that non consensual sex is permissible, with an authentic or artificial body.

Designer Sophie Sargeant