Sign of the Apocalypse #70: Sex robots

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(For more SOTAs, see here.)

Don't get me wrong, the prospect of, er, alternative forms of sex and sexuality is not without its appeal -- say, sex in some Star Trek-like holodeck program -- but this, well, this leaves something to be desired, it seems to me:

Billed as a world first, Roxxxy the sex robot made here debut in front of adoring fans at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.

The life-size robotic girlfriend comes complete with complete with artificial intelligence and flesh-like synthetic skin.

"She can't vacuum, she can't cook but she can do almost anything else if you know what I mean," TrueCompanion's Douglas Hines said while introducing AFP to Roxxxy.

"She's a companion. She has a personality. She hears you. She listens to you. She speaks. She feels your touch. She goes to sleep. We are trying to replicate a personality of a person."

Roxxxy stands five feet, seven inches tall, weighs 120 pounds, "has a full C cup and is ready for action," according to Hines, who was an artificial intelligence engineer at Bell Labs before starting TrueCompanion.

The anatomically-correct robot has an articulated skeleton that can move like a person but can't walk or independently move its limbs.

Robotic movement is built into "the three inputs" and a mechanical heart that powers a liquid cooling system.

Roxxxy comes with five personalities. Wild Wendy is outgoing and adventurous, while Frigid Farrah is reserved and shy.

There is a young naive personality along with a Mature Martha that Hines described as having a "matriarchal kind of caring." S & M Susan is geared for more adventurous types.

Aspiring partners can customize Roxxxy features, including race, hair color and breast size. A male sex robot named "Rocky" is in development.

A "companion"? Really? I get that there's a future in this, and probably an extremely lucrative one, and that human sexuality, including with "human" beings, will continue to evolve, but let's not overdo it.

Besides, is it really a good thing that one day we'll all be able to have essentially servile human "companions" customized to our liking?

It's one thing to have sex with a technologically-advanced toy, which is what this is, quite another to let such toys replace real and meaningful human interaction. And I fear that may be where we're headed.

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Although, I must admit, if TrueCompanion, the manufacturer of Roxxxy, wishes to send me a "robot" to check out, and review, well, er, that'd be fine with me. Whether it'd be fine with my real human companion is another matter, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Wild Wendy sounds good.

Am I serious about this? Ummm... maybe.