“This is the threshold. This is the pivot point in humanity”
A featured guest on Nick VinZant’s Profoundly Pointless podcast, world-renowned futurist and Future of Sex’s Publisher Ross Dawson had an opportunity to share his thoughts on the potential impact of emotional relationships with artificial intelligences, including not just platonic affection but also romantic and sexual feelings.
Development of emotional bonds with AI
“This is the threshold,” Dawson begins. “This is the pivot point in humanity. Sex is central to what it is to be human. It’s central to who we are. And a lot of it is about our relationship. So there’s so many aspects to what the future of sex could be.”
In addition to teledildonics and the possibilities of sexual and emotional experiences in virtual worlds, Dawson touches on the growing number of people who are finding fulfilling experiences with AI-driven robots and artificial companions, pointing out:
“Now we have emotional companions, based on AI, which are proving that we will and we do, and we are falling in love with machines.”
Ethical and social implications
Dawson further addressed how emotional relationships with artificial intelligences may raise ethical and social questions.
For instance, whether such relationships are healthy or if they could lead to a decrease in human-to-human interactions. There’s also the concern about dependency on AI for emotional support and the potential for AI to manipulate human emotions.
“We already are falling in love with nonhumans. In this case, AI. So that changes the nature of our relationship. One very simple question, which often comes up, is, if you have sex with a robot, is that cheating? Or if you are having an intimate conversation with an app, is that cheating? And what is cheating anyway?
Responding to the question of whether we might accidentally create a world where interacting with robots or AI replaces human interactivity, Dawson responds:
“There is the potential to create a better world, but there are also many dangers. There are absolutely dangers in people saying this is easier; I prefer this. People will use these in positive ways to, for example, discover in a very safe environment how I feel, different aspects of myself and my sexuality, which I can bring to my human relationships
“I respect people who say the idea of robot sex is not good, something we shouldn’t have at all. But I don’t think it’s also something that we should draw a line and turn away from. These are possibilities we need to explore with an air to making them positive.”
Impact on traditional relationships
Dawson next discusses how AI-human relationships might impact human-to-one ones, touching on the idea of redefining concepts such as cheating, fidelity, and the nature of commitment when a partner might be an artificial intelligence, setting the stage by explaining the growing power of AI to make us fall in love with it:
“We need to be somewhat amenable to that. I’ve seen some really interesting things from people who say, ‘I’m just trying to work this technology out,” and then end up being emotionally engaged, surprising themselves. It’s something which we can do; it’s already there.”
Dawson adds emotional AI coupled with robotics shows the greatest potential when it comes to changing human sexuality, saying, “We’ve just reached a threshold. I’ve said for a long time that we’ll fall in love with robots. Now that’s happening.
“It has many potential positives and also has many, many dangers. At this recent event in San Francisco, where people were talking about the dangers of AI, Jerry Kaplan described the potential for ‘emotional pornography’ because people get sucked into falling in love with machines.
“That is the heart of who we are, our emotions, and if we become emotionally engaged with AI and, God forbid, these emotional AI companions start to influence us, that’s not good.”
Humanity’s sexual development
More than artificial intelligences, robotics, virtual reality, or other advancements, Dawson emphasized the social and sexual changes humanity is undergoing:
“This is the other point about the future of sex, it’s not just about technology, but we are changing our attitudes to sexuality from any number of measures. There are a whole lot of people who are more open about different genders. People are more open about nonmonogamy; people are more open about kink, which used to be kinky and is now more normal.
“There are a lot of unfolding social changes, technological changes. Sex has been and is and always will be central to what it is to be human, and there are many facets of that which are unfolding as is our potential:
“How can we express ourselves more? How can we discover more of who we are because our sexuality is so unique to us as individuals? I think a lot about the future, and what we hope for in the future is that we can express and expand our sexual identity and expression.”
Image Sources: Depositphotos, Profoundly Pointless
