Robot Love?

[Larissa the Intern]

I recently stumbled across something semi-humorous, semi-silly, and wholly disturbing whilst being a geek and reading this daily sci-fi nerd blog I read: a prediction that within 5 years humans will find it the norm to have sex with robots, and within 40-50 years we will actually be falling in love with them. Someone, a man named David Levy in particular, has written a book about the subject aptly titled "Love and Sex with Robots."

Here's a link to a clip of the author on the Colbert Report, basically getting ridiculed and calling his thesis "not science fiction, but science fact."

Science fact is that peeps have been doin' it with robots since the dawn of vibrators and those terrifying machines I have glimpsed from time to time when in the company of my more internet-porn-adventurous friends. But falling in love with them? Programming them to love you, and as the good (mad?) doctor says, ocassionally reject you because "an important part of sexuality is "the possibility of failure or denial," and thus sexbots will need to be able to mimic human "capriciousness." ??? That is a freaky possibility. I imagine this superlovebot would be a combo of an high-end "lifedoll", those expensive German vibrators they sell at high-end pleasure boutiques, and an iPod shuffle. On one hand, I see something as fantastical as this making some truly lonely people happy, but on the other...it makes me want to stockpile all technology and burn it in a sparkly display of rejection: rejection of the walls we put up to keep each other out in favor of some perfect thing that does exactly what we want all the time, never challenging us or teaching us anything. I think expecting whomever (whatever?) you love to be a conduit for your every whim and desire is pretty jacked.

Though I'm totally reading the book when it comes out.

Thoughts?

And on the lighter side, which of these robots would win your heart?

[Simon]

Hey, you can program it to play Guitar Hero and always be happy even when you ignore it to play WoW. Sounds good to me.

Am I a bad person?

[Jenny, Bloggess]

Dude. That is *exactly* the same make-up routine I have.

[Larissa the Intern]

Fun fact: Jude Law's face is plastic. Well not really, but the makeup used on him to create that comely plasticene complexion in A.I. is a combination of airbrushing, latex, and some mad shimmer applying skills.

[Nick Malaguti]

Another photo of Annalee Call

[Nick Malaguti]

Wow, Jude Law has some complexion. I'd fall for the android Annalee Call from Alien: Resurrection. She was played by Winona Ryder (who I'd fall for anyway).

[Larissa the Intern]

You know, I was going to include a BSG character...but then the only BSG character for me is of course Dr Gaius Baltar. Pardon me, LOVE DOCTOR Gaius Baltar.

[Jenny, Bloggess]

I think this was a Futurama episode. When Frye fell in love with the Lucy Lui-bot and they made him watch the video about robot sex causing the end of all humanity? Was that a documentary?

PS. Best robot ever? Number 6 from Battlestar Galactica.