Deep in Uncanny Valley lives Roxxxy, a woman who is not a woman — a human one, at least. Clad in tantalizing lingerie, her bright eyes are fixed in an everlasting, lifeless stare. Her painted mouth is constantly left in a sultry and silent beckoning call. Every square inch of her is ideal. Roxxxy was crafted with one sole purpose, and that purpose is to please you.
Roxxxy, the world’s first interactive sex robot, was designed and built by True Companion, a company that sells sex toys.
According to the True Companion website, their sex robots are built with artificial intelligence, which means they “can hear what you say, speak, feel your touch, move their bodies, are mobile and have emotions and a personality.”
Emotions. And a whole personality.
Roxxxy’s existence wasn’t welcomed with open arms however. Recently, a campaign for banning these sexbots has been launched because, as robot ethicist and campaign leader Kathleen Richardson told the BBC, “We think that the creation of such robots will contribute to detrimental relationships between men and women, adults and children, men and men and women and women.”
The BBC also reports that Richardson believes these robots will contribute to gender stereotypes and that relationships will not need to be anything more than physical. In other words, they will perpetuate this idea that women are sex objects.
While I might not 100 percent agree with the idea that these robots will contribute to women being thought of as walking masturbation toys, I am genuinely creeped out by these things — what if Roxxxy turns out to have the same sinister intentions as GLADoS? Then we might have to turn her into a potato and make her test out her slow clap processor.
In all seriousness, there is some genuine concern surrounding these sexbots. Will we live in a world where watching Netflix and chilling with a synthetic companion will be the norm? And are these sex robots really degrading to women? Probably not, and no.
I seriously doubt artificial intelligence will replace the touch of a real, warm-blooded lover. Sure, Roxxxy will arch her back to infinity at your request, but we won’t have a widespread “Her” situation. You ever been in love with someone and you find yourself adoring that chip in his tooth or the way that tiny roll of fat sneaks over her skirt when she wears a midriff? There’s something more fulfilling in having two flawed individuals look at each other as perfectly flawed, and that’s something you can’t get from a robot.
And these sexbots aren’t degrading to women the same way vibrators aren’t degrading to men. I’m sure people who buy these things will be aware that they are using a product. Granted, the product might be a bit extreme for my tastes, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Point is, sexbots are just grown-folks toys with extra buttons and knobs, and that’s all they’ll ever be.
Hannah Gammill is a junior English major from New Orleans.
