I don’t think it’s healthy to avoid human interaction altogether, but personally I’m not convinced that sex with humans is a necessity — or even necessarily “better”, either for the sex-er or their society.
I’m not one of them, but there are people who are genuinely, happily asexual and OK with it… whether in the self-identification sense or just in the mundane “I have a headache, honey / I’m too busy at work / my partner is gone for long periods of time / my society doesn’t allow me enough free time to date and maintain relationships” sense.
Sometimes sex with another person is just… disappointing… too, but people live with that and lead otherwise OK lives.
Somewhere between the back-to-nature movement and the hypersim Ready Player One extremes, there’s probably an optimal balance that would be “good” for most people. But we don’t know where that is yet, and even if we did, it wouldn’t apply equally to everyone.
I don’t think we’re at a point in our cultural, ethical, or scientific development yet where we can draw safely draw any such broad conclusions about human sexuality. That is assuming humans even stay human; with AI and Neuralink and VR and CRISPR etc., we’re probably going to see more and more cybernetic implants and inevitably more and more virtual sex.
Probably there will be people who prefer the old-fashioned way with the occasional masturbatory indulgence in virtual sex. There will be some people who are the opposite, preferring the virtual to the real most or all of the time. As long as they’re happy and not causing anyone harm, who cares? It’s not the life I would choose for myself, but I find it hard to believe that there aren’t people out there who aren’t genuinely, truly happier that way, especially if they’re introverts growing up in a tech-heavy, capitalism-heavy, relationship-light culture (like Japan).
I’m too lazy to actually research it, but my theory is that if you look at actual studies, I would be willing to be that people who engage in regular human sex with partners who they have a healthy relationship with are generally happier and healthier.
Tech-heavy, capitalism-heavy, relationship-light cultures (like Japan or the USA) seem to be intent on putting society on a dystopian path where most human interactions and activities will be performed by services owned by megacorporations controlled by a relatively small number of super-wealthy. The rest of society will exist as an atomized collection of nodes under constant surveillance and measurement determining their value in consuming products or holding their attention.
Honestly half this AI shit sounds to me like a bunch of nerds throwing billions of dollars at “problems” that can mostly be solved by going to your local bar, ordering a drink or two, and striking up a conversation with an actual human being.
I would in fact generally agree with this (also lazily and without research). But for some not-inconsequential amount of people, I think their choices would be more limited… it’s not like “AI or people”, but more typically “AI or nothing” (for various reasons… economics, personality, time, safety, whatever).
I’m not arguing that we should replace human sex with virtual sex, but that some people may not have the choice (and also for some who do), AI sex wouldn’t necessarily be a terrible public health outcome the way that chain smoking would be. Would it be better for them if they had a happy, fulfilling human sexual partner? Probably is my guess, the same way that having more exercise, a better diet, more outdoor time, etc. would be better for them. But people do manage to live fulfilling lives without an optimal balance of those things.
As much as I can sound like an AI evangelist at times… you know what I said to my (flesh and blood) partner yesterday? “I wish this whole AI thing never happened.” It’s useful sometimes, but it feels to me like it’s already a net negative, and will only get worse…
It’s less of a prayer and more of a grudging acceptance of the inevitable. I don’t think it will be possible to opt-out of AI in the future, so we just have to learn to live with it… for worse or for worse…
But, you know, that’s us and our generations and our lived experiences. The youngins may have a totally different view of it in 20 years, much less 200.
There will probably be people who consciously avoid it, like Amish today. But for most, it will probably fade into the background. Like electricity or telephones over the last century?
And I wish the Amish weren’t an exclusive religious group… I totally would’ve joined them if not for that. I’d be happy, eager almost, to give up most technology in exchange for better community. Maybe just keep running water and electric lights. Maybe a walkie-talkie for emergencies. Not much beyond that. Especially not the Internet. (Sigh. Wishful thinking.)
I think one should be careful not to romanticise. Community has its benefits but also its drawbacks. Companionship and a sense of family, yes. But you had better fall in with the party line.
If you start to get some ideas that don’t fit… things may not run so smoothly?
That’s when you splinter off and form your own new cult
Maybe I’ll just have to start a little community farm where half the AI workers think they’re human, half the human workers think they’re cyborgs, nobody really knows for sure, and secretly it’s the chicken overlords controlling it all. Who says the new world order has to make sense?
I would just like to point out that the similarity of the words “silicone” and “silicon” are not a coincidence! The ultimate convergence was predicted in Woody Allen’s 1973 film Sleeper – the orgasmatron!
I suspect that a lot of people don’t even know that they’re separate words.
For those who don’t know: Silicon is an element. It’s a common component of many kinds of rock, and when ultra-purified (and with trace impurities added in just the right precise ways), it can be used to make computer chips. In its pure form, it’s hard and looks kind of like a metal (and in fact has other properties that are kind of like metals).
One compound (or rather, class of compounds) containing silicon is silicone. It’s flexible with a rubbery texture, and is highly durable, standing up well to stress, heat, and many chemicals. It’s often used for kitchen tools, Hollywood special effects, and breast implants.
I think it’s somewhere in the middle, probably. I have had times where I posted here out of loneliness and other times where it was just something fun to do. It’s probably not as good as face to face interaction, but I’m not getting much of that during the week. So it slots in nicely to existing social gaps. That’s different, I think, then it being the sole source of social support, and I would imagine it varies greatly from person to person.
Working on it! In my copious free time. There’s a reason so many people start their writing careers during retirement.
Exactly correct. It is in some ways quite similar to carbon, and is the next element down from carbon in the same column of the periodic table. So there is some speculation that it might possibly be a basis for some kind of life. (Quite different from silicon computers created by technology, of course)
But the silicon-silicon bond is much weaker than the carbon-carbon bond and does not seem to have the same tendency to form a lot of complex molecules?
Moya’s skin can maintain a humanlike temperature of 89 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit, a feature that could make it more difficult for DroidUP to argue that the bot isn’t intended for adult purposes.
Well, that and using the carpool lane
Seems like a silly factor in worrying about whether it’s potentially a sexbot or not. Does it have a usable vagina? Then it’s probably a sexbot regardless of the body temperature.
Well, people fall in love on line without ever seeing the person they’ve been talking to, so the fact that it is an AI amounts to just another step forward. Seems really weird, but there’s a lot of “weird” these days.
