Thought i would put fingers to the keyboard tonight and this may have been covered before by someone else. But tonight i want to cover two words Robosexual and Robophobic. You might be asking what the hell are these terms. But it occurred to me, with the rise of humanoids being created and robotics appearing more in our every day lives, from being able to do daily chores with AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) to AI chat companions i think the terms Robosexual and Robophobic is very relevant.
What does this mean, well, in the future will human beings opt for robotic companions for love, some companies are heavily investing in romantic companions for people as the Dating market looks bleak and this might appeal to people looking for companionship. Will people identity as RoboSexual and how long before Dating apps become a wash with profiles of robots looking for love and people classifying themselves as Robosexual. I mean there are a whole host of different things people like when it comes to Dating and will human beings opt for robotic companions in the future.
This could offer many possibilities for people who want some form of companionship and not everything else that comes with it. The same can be said for human Dating in general. Some people want life partners and others just want some fun, or no strings attached as its known. Which begs a bigger question if people go down the Robosexual route are they missing out on that human connection or could robots replace sex workers in the future with lots of advantages or as a society should we strive towards dealing with people using sex workers in the first place. But it becomes really interesting the more humanoids become human could they replace deceased loved ones who those behind struggle to let go of. But is it right to allow this or wrong.
You could argue that, humanoids would help someone get over their deceased loved one or prevent that person from grieving all together and never letting go. Its this type of thing that i find very interesting, kind of like people who have their pets cloned because they miss them so much, but my biggest argument, is it isn't just DNA that makes a person a person or a cat a cat but those lived experiences that impact later in life decisions. Its the same with people who can't let go of loved ones and they may seek to extend that through humanoids.
But once a person has died, nothing is left but a shell, the thing that made a person a person is gone and lives on another way in a different form, whether you believe in God or not or have other faith / religious views, you will get to see them in the future after this life. A humanoid with someone's appearance and memories would not be that person. As hard as it is, is the best way to preserve someone's memory through the shared experiences that you had with someone that can be replayed in your mind at any time or become part of your dreams. There are people, like you reading this, that has lost someone at some point, and sure, if i had a time machine, would love to go back and see them, but its simply not possible but those people live on through my memories and dreams and they bring comfort. I think those true shared experiences a humanoid would never truly be able to replicate. Grief is hard whether we like it or not. I've seen my grand parents laying in rest, and i realised that they are no longer there, just a shell and is a humanoid re-creation of someone just a shell, a mechanical one at that instead of biological.
Or maybe, if someone identifies as a Robosexual who doesnt have that same human connection won't go through the above or would an attachment still be formed. Like with a phone, a laptop or a car, people get attached to things and maybe this would be the same with humanoids. The film the creator covers the human and humanoid connection in great detail worth a watch. The message i take away from this is sometimes its hard to let go and if someone could spend just another day with someone or a humanoid they would. Certainly food for thought.
Robosexuals being said, there is the other side to this Robophoic. A phobia is a fear or hatred of something and I'm sure we all have a fear of something, for some it might be spiders, clowns, going down escalators, race and faith, there are many phobias out there. Do we need to add a new one of Robophobia in the mix. Having grown up watching films portraying robots walking amongst us. Actually seeing a humanoid or robot in person is a very strange experience. My first encounter was in my local super market and the robotic floor cleaning machine they have going round the store. TO be honest i wasn't sure what to make of it, having never seen them in person before and other people might be the same. Human beings are very judgemental in the sense they will formulate whether they like something or hate something quite quickly and sometimes over time. Do i hate robots, i don't say i do, but the more common place they become maybe i will become more accustomed to them being part of every day life. I think lots of things go into why we have a phobia of something or not. The floor cleaner looked like a robot but if that was a realistic humanoid i honestly don't know how i react and i don't think i would be the only one. Our minds try to apply logic and association to things in the world to understand them and would a realistic humanoid confuse the mind or would some people think its really cool.
The west is very slow to adopt the use of humanoids but ask your self the question, would you trust your new born baby with a humanoid and its these sorts of questions and concerns that lots of people might have. Is that a form of Robophobia or do we just don't have enough field experience of humanoids to trust them. Robophobia might be common place in the early days of humanoids becoming more common place and people will have all sorts of concerns, from looking after your baby to taking someone's jobs. I feel this would be a form of Robophobia but for sound reasons.
Going back to trusting a baby with a humanoid, parents do the same when leaving their babies with baby sitters, they want to know they are safe, so they might use family members or people they trust really well, then once the trust is built up they feel comfortable leaving their baby with them. Is this the same with robots, do people need to have trust in them more before more people have trust in humanoids to get over Robophobia. Its certainly an interesting one. As mentioned before, people have phobias of all sorts of things and maybe with the right awareness Robophobia wont be a thing in the future.
Humanoids, robots and AI are the next step in human evolution and a changing society, but cast your mind back roughly just over 100 years and the industrial revolution, i bet people back then were having the same questions and phobias about machines coming along, risk of taking there jobs. But people re-trained and new industries were created. So is this just the next phase for humanity. I don't think Robophobia is a bad thing to have especially with us still being in the early days of humanoids, as per the example of a humanoid being a baby sitter a person may not trust a humanoid to look after there children when they are out. But is this a rational thing, and yes, i think some people, are Robophobic and will be the same for a long time.
Like with racism, how many decades and years that's being going on and would the same be for humanoids, would we get protests at humaniod factories and work places would people develop a hatred for humanoids. Its definitely a very interesting question only time will tell.
