Love + Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships
 

Artificial intelligence? Think artificial nookie. One expert says that by 2050, men and women will be having intimate relations with lifelike machines

This month, artificial intelligence expert David Levy released Love + Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships. In the book, he predicts that by 2050, men and women will be enjoying physical and emotional bonds with extremely lifelike, apparently conscious and remarkably suave robots.

Using examples of human-robot interactions from around the world, Dr. Levy - who won the 1997 Loebner Prize for developing conversational software and who earned his PhD with his thesis "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners" - explains why he thinks artificial beings will soon become a source of real companionship and the object of human desire.

In conversation, Dr. Levy explains how machines will make superior lovers and why men should be nervous, but his wife should not.

Which is harder for people to imagine with robots: sex or love?
The love aspect. Most people seem to acknowledge that there are sex dolls that sell at high prices and people clearly enjoy using them, which is the start of the sexual functioning of robots. Since vibrators sell so well, clearly a male sex doll with a vibrating penis will sell better than one without. But I think people will have to wait until the middle of the century to experience true love with robots because conversation is one of the most difficult problems facing artificial intelligence researchers.

FULL ARTICLE AT: http://tinyurl.com/ypj9hz

there was an interview with the author on the local NPR affiliate Thursday 11/15/07 - what a whack job...

Interview with David Levy