[ExI] Article reviewing progress in sexbots

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of
BillK via extropy-chat
Sent: Sunday, December 5, 2021 7:37 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Cc: BillK <pharos at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [ExI] Article reviewing progress in sexbots

On Sun, 5 Dec 2021 at 14:59, spike jones via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> $10k sounds way lower than I would expect for a mechanical device with
electronics.
>
<snip>
>
> Let us take that one step further please.  Over time we see fewer young
people who take much interest in athletic fitness.  We have standards for
comparison with the scouts: we can easily see standards set 60 years ago are
not being commonly met today.  It might be possible to draw a parallel to
social fitness, and how the availability of sexbots and companion bots could
reduce the overall fitness of the group.
>
> spike
> _______________________________________________


>...Perhaps under $10k was just wishful thinking on my part.  :) But there
would be a range of prices and features...

Ja, 10k isn't much money, especially now with the US government
turbo-charging its printing presses.  But if we start with the assumption of
a flexible-frame-no-actuators model, 10k is conceivable with sufficient
production.  At $10k, it becomes a consumer-level device.  Early computers
could go that high (adjusting for inflation and assuming you bought a lot of
trendy spendy high-endy stuff (which I didn't back then (wanted the hell out
of it (and had friends who had the money (but who couldn't do much with them
back then (I could (but didn't have the money back then.))))))

I can imagine a talking mostly-companioney software-enabled doll with no
actuators, which would be theoretically capable of being a sex-bot but with
no actuators wouldn't be a great one.  Perhaps this is a good thing however
(to not compete directly with carbon units in the bedroom (but still be a
perceptive software based companion.))  

For instance... suppose one is alone and has an oddball sense of humor.
Downton Abbey isn't a comedy, but the Dowager Countess of Grantham cracks me
up.  It seems like some sharp software guy could write a script which would
enable Barbie to recognize laughter, then she would laugh too.  Perhaps it
could even have speech recognition, so she could learn from the resident or
user to make comments such as "Awww that Earl of Grantham is such a silly
dumbass, he's screwing up again..." and "...I'm not even a lesbian, I'm only
a sex doll, but oh Lady Mary is so smoking hot, even I would get in the sack
with her..." that kinda thing.  It could be funny, even insightful perhaps
(if internet enabled) a great daytime entertainment device if we did it
right, never mind the bedroom stuff.

Heh, kidding bygones, of course mind the bedroom stuff.  But think about the
other possibilities, a much easier set of engineering problems to solve, and
will likely be ready to go a long time before the bedroom stuff is even
distantly convincing.

When I go down that line of reasoning, I keep looping back to a virtual
character, for those high-res screens are cheap enough, so we can have them
in every room.  They can all be networked, so your favorite avatar with you
wherever you are in the home.  If you quarrel with her, it would be easy to
change her out, or have multiple avatars with differing personalities,
depending on your mood: bring in Lady Mary when you are in the mood for
that, but a nice gentle kindhearted Anna Smith Bates when you are feeling
mellow, Lady Grantham when you just want light breezy funny conversation.

With the state of software where it is, I am kinda surprised this isn't
already here.  We have good speech recognition, we have accented text to
speech.  Looks to me like all the elements are there for having a discussion
of sorts with a computer.

spike












Just like electric cars. Expensive Teslas down to cheaper Chinese and Asian
models, then further down to electric tuk-tuk cars, and right down to
electric cargo bikes at give-away prices. Horses for courses.

As the toy robots have shown, very little AI is required in order for people
to treat them as intelligent. People talk to their Roombas.
Some have said that 'pretend human' level AI is objectionable. The 'uncanny
valley' effect really turns people off. And one thing you definitely want
with a sexbot is to be comfortable with it.



BillK

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