Before I dive into my take on this, I want to discuss how we would get here.
Why sex bots need to do more than ‘you’
It’s hard to imagine expensive, human-sized androids locked away in every closet. In addition to the ill feelings you may have about a human analog being locked in a closet, this just isn’t practical. 5 feet is just too big for a sex toy.
So if not stored in the closet, how about the living room? Well now it is on public display which means it needs to be more than a sex bot, it needs to offer guests coffee.
For sex bots to ever become more than a lonely fetish, they will need to be marketed as sex capable home assistants. Of course people will purchase them primarily for sex, but they will also have them do house work. This creates a thin veil that allows us to be more comfortable, like how a Hitachi magic wand is a “back massager.”
My take
I go over to my friend’s house and their sex bot offers me tea. My gut reaction is to say “no.” But I’m not entirely sure why this is my answer. I don’t think it is about sanitation exactly, it just feels like the right answer.
This could be the end of this post but I want to explore this a bit more because I think somewhere in all this is how I really feel about robots in general.
Finding the line
Let’s set some boundaries around this question.
If instead your friend were getting naughty with their Mr. Coffee then it is a definite no to coffee.
But what if, instead of a sex bot, a high end prostitute greets you at the door and offers you a cup of joe. Surely you would say yes to that.
So is a sex bot more like a Mr. Coffee or a prostitute? I feel like a sex bot is more appliance than person, and I think this is primarily where my answer comes from, but there are other factors as well.
Primary function
I think it makes a difference what the bot’s primary function is.
For example, it feels different if it is a lumberjack bot that has sex than if it is a sex bot that chops trees.
The reason the bot was purchased seems to matter.
But what if the bot’s primary purpose is sex? Then does it matter how much the sex bot can do other than sex? Like if it is just sex and coffee, or sex, cooking, cleaning, yard work and pet care?
This does seems to matter. The more features the sex bot has, the less about sex it becomes, making it more acceptable to accept a hot beverage.
Shadow of doubt
Part of why it matters what the sex bot can do is that it creates a shadow of doubt. Maybe your friend didn’t purchase SteamyJessie for sex. Maybe they bought the bot because they hate cleaning the fridge. It is certainly possible. And this shadow of doubt gives us some space to find comfort in a future that is sure to be both wonderful and strange.
Share your thoughts in the comments and by doing the poll.