4e de couverture: From Pygmalion falling for his chiselled Galatea, to Dr Frankenstein marvelling at his monster, to the man-meets-machine fiction of Philip K Dick and Michael Crichton, humans have been enthralled by the possibilities of emotional relationships with their technological creations. Synthesizing cutting-edge research in robotics with the cultural history and psychology of artificial intelligence, Love and Sex with Robots explores this fascination - and its far-reaching implications. Using examples drawn from around the world, David Levy argues that, once we have conditioned ourselves to feel affection for animate creations, the next logical step is physical intimacy ...

Perspectives from philosophy, psychology religious studies, economics, and law on the possible future of robot-human sexual relationships. Sexbots are coming. Given the pace of technological advances, it is inevitable that realistic robots specifically designed for people's sexual gratification will be developed in the not-too-distant future. Despite popular culture's fascination with the topic, and the emergence of the much-publicized Campaign Against Sex Robots, there has been little academic research on the social, philosophical, moral, and legal implications of robot sex. This book fills the gap, offering perspectives from philosophy, psychology, religious studies, economics, and law on the possible future of robot-human sexual relationships. Contributors discuss what a sex robot is, if they exist, why we should take the issue seriously, and what it means to “have sex” with a robot. They make the case for developing sex robots, arguing for their beneficial nature, and the case against it, on religious and moral grounds; they consider the subject from the robot's perspective, addressing such issues as consent and agency; and they ask whether it is possible for a human to form a mutually satisfying, loving relationship with a robot. Finally, they speculate about the future of human-robot sexual interaction, considering the social acceptability of sex robots and the possible effect on society. Contributors Marina Adshade, Thomas Arnold, Julie Carpenter, John Danaher, Brian Earp, Lily Eva Frank, Joshua Goldstein, Michael Hauskeller, Noreen Herzfeld, Neil McArthur, Mark Migotti, Sven Nyholm, Ezio di Nucci, Steve Petersen, Anders Sandberg, Matthias Scheutz, Litska Strikwerda, Nicole Wyatt

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Love and Sex with Robots, LSR 2017, held in December 2017, in London, UK. The 12 revised papers presented together with 2 keynotes were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 83 submissions. One of the biggest challenges of the Love and Sex with Robots conference is to engage a wider scientific community in the discussions of the multifaceted topic, which has only recently established itself as an academic research topic within, but not limited to, the disciplines of artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, robotics, biomedical science and robot ethics etc.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Conference on Love and Sex with Robots 2016 in December 2016, in London, UK. The 12 revised papers presented together with 1 keynote were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 38 submissions. The papers of the Second International Conference have been accepted and reviewed in 2015 but could not be presented as there was no conference in 2015 but at the conference in 2016. The topics of the conferences were as follows: robot emotions, humanoid robots, clone robots, entertainment robots, robot personalities, teledildonics, intelligent electronic sex hardware, gender approaches, affective approaches, psychological approaches, sociological approaches, roboethics, and philosophical approaches. The papers from the First International Conference 2015 were as follows: The Impact of a Humanlike Communication Medium on The Development of Intimate Human Relationship Kissenger – Development of a Real-Time Internet Kiss Communication Interface for Mobile Phones Sex with Robots for Love Free Encounters The papers from the Second International Conference 2016 were as follows: Why Not Marry a Robot? Sex Robots from the Perspective of Machine Ethics Affective Labor and Technologies of Gender in Wei Yahua’s “Conjugal Happiness in the Arms of Morpheus” Teletongue: A Lollipop Device For Remote Oral Interaction ROMOT: a Robotic 3D-Movie Theater Allowing Interaction and Multimodal Experiences For the Love of Artifice 2: Attachment Influences on the Intention to buy a Sex Robot: An empirical study on influences of personality traits and personal characteristics on the intention to buy a sex robot The Cyborg Mermaid (or how technè can help the misfits fit in) Exploration of Relational Factors and the Likelihood of a Sexual Robotic Experience Robots, and Intimacies; A Preliminary Study of Perceptions of Robots and Intimacies with Robots

A timely investigation into the forces that are driving innovation in the four core areas of human experience: birth, food, sex, and death. In Sex Robots & Vegan Meat, award-winning journalist and documentary-maker Jenny Kleeman takes us on a journey into the world of the people who are changing what it means to be human. Focusing on four central pillars of the human experience–birth, food, sex, and death—Kleeman examines the people who are driving some truly amazing (and perhaps worrying) innovations. We are on the brink of seismic changes in the ways we live and die, from babies grown in artificial wombs to lab-produced meat; from sex robots able to hold polite conversation (and otherwise) to being able to choose to end our days with the perfect, painless, automated death. Our journey from cradle to grave is developing in ways which involve more and more technology, and less and less human interaction. Might these advances in technology serve to rob us of our humanity? In this book Jenny Kleeman takes a profound look at what the future might have in store—and asks some provocative questions along the way. Jenny Kleeman places these scientists front and center and asks what is driving and motivating them? Are they entrepreneurs in it for the greater good of human advancement, or might there be more sinister—i.e. monetary—motivations in play? Gleeman is a skilled and subtle interrogator and travels with the reader on a fascinating exploration of the changes afoot, their implications for who we are as a society—and as human beings. It's an immersive, eye-opening, and hugely entertaining journey into a world of extraordinary visionaries on the frontline of a social revolution.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, this book explores the emerging topics and rapid technological developments of robotics and artificial intelligence through the lens of the evolving role of sex robots, and how they should best be designed to serve human needs. An international panel of authors provides the most up-to-date, evidence-based empirical research on the potential sexual applications of artificial intelligence. Early chapters discuss the objections to sexual activity with robots while also providing a counterargument to each objection. Subsequent chapters present the implications of robot sex as well as the security and data privacy issues associated with sexual interactions with artificial intelligence. The book concludes with a chapter highlighting the importance of a scientific, multidisciplinary approach to the study of human - robot sexuality. Topics featured in this book include: The Sexual Interaction Illusion Model. The personal companion system, Harmony, designed by RealbotixTM. An exposition of the challenges of personal data control and protection when dealing with artificial intelligence. The current and future technological possibilities of projecting three-dimensional holograms. Expert discussion notes from an international workshop on the topic. AI Love You will be of interest to academic researchers in psychology, robotics, ethics, medical science, sociology, gender studies as well as clinicians, policy makers, and the business sector.

Draws on cutting-edge research, as well as examples from cultural history and psychology, to explore what the author believes will be inevitable physical relationships between people and machines.

From the Booker Prize winner and bestselling author of Atonement—”a sharply intelligent novel of ideas” (The New York Times) that asks whether a machine can understand the human heart, or whether we are the ones who lack understanding. Set in an uncanny alternative 1982 London—where Britain has lost the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power, and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence—Machines Like Me powerfully portrays two lovers who will be tested beyond their understanding. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first generation of synthetic humans. With Miranda's assistance, he codesigns Adam's personality. The near-perfect human that emerges is beautiful, strong, and smart—and a love triangle soon forms. Ian McEwan's subversive, gripping novel poses fundamental questions: What makes us human—our outward deeds or our inner lives? Could a machine understand the human heart? This provocative and thrilling tale warns against the power to invent things beyond our control. Don’t miss Ian McEwan’s new novel, Lessons, coming in September!

The idea of humans falling in love with artificial beings is not a modern conception. Our relationship with artificial partners has come a long way since Pygmalion and his ivory lover. In recent years, there has been a strong upsurge of interest and discussions in the various aspects of intimate relationships between humans and artificial partners. This interest is evidenced by the increase in media coverage, TV documentaries and films on this topic, as well as the active research efforts within the academic community. This book provides a comprehensive collection and overview of the latest development in the field of intimate relationships between humans and artificial partners, in particular robots and virtual agents. It includes relevant research work undertaken by the authors, the latest advancements in technology and commercial products, and future predictions and insights from leading experts in the area. This book contains an in-depth discussion of the engineering, philosophical, psychological, ethical, and sociological implications of relationships with artificial companions. It also gives a glimpse of some future directions of artificial intelligence, human-computer love and sexual interaction, robotics engineering etc. It is a great resource for researchers and professionals working in these areas. The narrative style of the book also makes it an enjoyable and educational read for everyone.

A crucial guide to life before—and after—Tinder, IVF, and robots. What will happen to our notions of marriage and parenthood as reproductive technologies increasingly allow for newfangled ways of creating babies? What will happen to our understanding of gender as medical advances enable individuals to transition from one set of sexual characteristics to another, or to remain happily perched in between? What will happen to love and sex and romance as our relationships migrate from the real world to the Internet? Can people fall in love with robots? Will they? In short, what will happen to our most basic notions of humanity as we entangle our lives and emotions with the machines we have created? In Work Mate Marry Love, Harvard Business School professor and former Barnard College president Debora L. Spar offers an incisive and provocative account of how technology has transformed our intimate lives in the past, and how it will do so again in the future. Surveying the course of history, she shows how marriage as we understand it resulted from the rise of agriculture, and that the nuclear family emerged with the industrial revolution. In their day, the street light, the car, and later the pill all upended courtship and sex. Now, as we enter an era of artificial intelligence and robots, how will our deepest feelings and attachments evolve? In the past, the prevailing modes of production produced a world dominated by heterosexual, mostly-monogamous, two-parent families. In the future, however, these patterns are almost certain to be reshaped, creating entirely new norms for sex and romance, and for the construction of families and the raising of children. Steering clear of both techno-euphoria and alarmism, Spar offers a bold and inclusive vision of how our lives might be changed for the better.