?Controversy: a sex robot created to be raped
Roxxxy, the sex robot at the heart of the controversy Credits: Truecompanion
The question of sex robots comes up quite regularly, but this is about the creation of a particular robot that would be designed to satisfy the fantasies of rapists. The news is logically at the origin of an important controversy.
Much is written about the love between humans and robots. Indeed, the related ethical questions are worrying and fascinate as much as they inspire fear. Recently, for example, we were talking about the fact that sex robots could make humans associable.
The fact is that progress in robotics is there and that by dint of improvements, robots are present in society today, a trend which, moreover, should not run out of steam. The phenomenon even attacks a part of our existence: sex. A few months ago, for example, we were talking about the creation of Samantha, a sex robot with a G-spot.
In contrast, when the evil rears its ugly head, the public responds accordingly, much like what is currently happening to the company Truecompanion, whose slogan is “The first sex robot that is always on and ready to talk or play.” . The price of this robot called Roxxxy (see photo above) is 8600 euros, but this is not what arouses indignation.
Five personalities are adjustable, including the "Frigid Farrah" mode, described by the creators as being relative to a "shy" and "reserved" personality. On July 17, 2017, feminist Laura Bates pointed the finger at Truecompanion in The New York Times. The interested party believes that this is a robot created to satisfy inclinations concerning sex without consent. On the company's website (FAQ), it was possible to read:
"If your Roxxxy has the 'Frigid Farrah' personality and you touch her in an intimate area, most definitely she's not going to appreciate your advances. »
Since this rather virulent rant, an update of the product description has been made. Truecompanion has admitted to agreeing with Laura Bates and indicates that Roxxy was not designed to integrate simulations of acts of rape or similar acts. It would rather be, in fact, an erroneous interpretation of the comments made by the company, the latter also having been clumsy and equivocal. According to the latter, it would rather be a question of providing assistance to people wishing to “understand how to become intimate with a partner”.
Let's give Truecompanion the benefit of the doubt, but let's not forget that sex robots will very quickly invest in this new market and that it is urgent to lay a sound foundation. According to a report (PDF in English / 44 pages) from the Foundation for Responsible Robotics (FRR), abuses will appear at the same time as sex robots, namely acts of rape and possibly pedophilia (in the case of child robots), as well as other acts not cited.
Sources: New York Times – Huffington Post – Le Journal du Geek