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Home > Robots > Sci-fi Writer Takes on Wired for ‘Misguided’ Article on Sex Robot Ethics

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Home›Robots›Sci-fi Writer Takes on Wired for ‘Misguided’ Article on Sex Robot Ethics

Sci-fi Writer Takes on Wired for ‘Misguided’ Article on Sex Robot Ethics

By Jenna Owsianik, Editor-in-Chief of FutureofSex.net
February 23, 2018
2059
1

If it isn't a sentient being, does “consent” have a place in the debate?

Three robots stand next to each other.

We report on sex robots a lot at Future of Sex. Beyond keeping readers up to date on the latest technological developments, we also strive to push ethical discussions forward with the aim of shaping the best possible sexual future.

Earlier this month, Wired published an article called “The Squishy Ethics of Sex with Robots” that tries to tackle the question of whether sex robots can consent. Writer Adam Rogers concluded that no matter how sophisticated they might become, robots can never consent to sex. And once they are able to evince signs of lust or love, then using them for sex them would be a form of slavery.

Not everyone is impressed by Roger’s argument, however. On his blog, science-fiction writer Elf Sternberg counters his ideas in a series of posts.

He begins by saying the Wired article is “predicated on a pernicious and ill-considered anthropmorphization of devices that are purposefully designed, by humans, then constructed and deployed from a factory.”

Sternberg also lays the groundwork for his counterargument by defining three technologies related to the creation of humanoid robots: small-scale sensory realism, large-scale mobility, and emotional realism.

One of Sternberg’s more colorful lines:

“No one negotiates with a vibrator, dildo, or cock sleeve. Until and unless robots meet that very high bar we call ‘consciousness,' we're pretty much in the clear.”

If you find the ethics of sex with robots an important topic, or at least an interesting one, you can read Sternberg's posts here:

Post 1
Post 2
Post 3

Image source: TheDigitalArtist

Jenna Owsianik

Jenna Owsianik is a Canadian journalist and sex tech expert. Since 2014 she has been Editor-in-Chief of FutureofSex.net, the world’s leading publication on how technology is changing human sexuality, today and tomorrow.

Jenna is the primary author of the Future of Sex Report (2016).

Her expertise covers state-of-the-art sex technologies and the major fields driving innovations in intimacy: robotics, virtual reality, remote sex (teledildonics), immersive adult entertainment, human augmentation, virtual sex, and sexual health.

A trained journalist with a Masters of Journalism from The University of British Columbia, Jenna’s reporting has appeared on Futurism.com, Al Jazeera English, CTV British Columbia online, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS 60 Minutes, Global News, and CKNW Radio in Canada and the United States.

As a sex tech industry consultant, she is especially passionate about helping companies deliver accessible services and products to people with disabilities and other underserved communities.

Jenna also runs the sites SexforEveryBody.com, a sex-positive, body-positive online magazine that promotes inclusive sex education; and DisabledSexGuide.com, an adult resource on sex, disability, and erotica.

In 2013, Jenna won two Canadian Online Publishing Awards for her work on The Pain Project, a multimedia site on global access to palliative care.

She won second place at the 2011 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism’s Public Health category for her participation in the documentary Freedom From Pain.

Jenna has an Honors BA in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research as well as a French minor from The University of Western Ontario. She spent a year studying at L’Université Lumière Lyon 2 in Lyon, France.
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