David Levy's "Love + Sex with Robots" is an amazing book. It is well-researched, convincing, easy to relate to and understand (for those of us who don't work in technology), and a page turner. After reading this, I am convinced that Levy's predictions will come true, and although I am not sure the year, I do think it will happen in this century.
Current technology has robots that can walk, talk, display a variety of expressions, and whose faces look convincingly human. Technology is being developed that will program robots to analyze the social cues of humans, and then to respond as the humans desire. The idea is that people will buy a robot, and that robot will become tailored to the individual over time, by analyzing social cues and learning to respond favorably. If the owner likes to come home from work to a hot meal, the robot will make that a habit. If the human likes to argue, the robot will argue. Etc. Eventually robots will be able to have complex conversations on any topic, and will need to be programed NOT to show knowledge of everything the human species has learned, so not to bruise egos. This knowledge includes sexual abilities, and Levy predicts robots will be incredible in the bedroom.
The book builds its premise-- that robots will be companions-- with support from psychological research into the way human beings experience love, and project their feelings onto the objects of their affection. People love their pets, and many pet-owners believe that their pets love them back. People who fall in love with someone else often don't know that other person well, and they project an idealized version of that person, someone they want that person to be based on their own needs. And yes, these two examples he offers involve living beings, but Levy doesn't stop there. He offers a history of evidence of people falling in love with inanimate objects. The more recent examples involve people responding to robots as if they were human (robots with realistic faces, and the ability to display expressions such as fear, sadness, and happiness are most convincing). He also writes about how men fall in love with Real Dolls, which are very realistic looking sex dolls. These men treat them as companions, even though they don't have the ability to speak, change expressions, or have a conversation. Imagine if they could. Levy writes also about women having robots as companions, although the Real Doll example was about men.
You can't tell me that it isn't believable that you can't picture yourself or someone you know choosing to be with a companion who shares your/their exact interests, always wants to do what you/they want to do, never turns off your sports or criticizes you for spending too much on clothes (unless that's what you want, of course), never complains about your family or friends...
Levy also offers a history of mechanical animals/people, which was informative and interesting.
The one thing I disagree with, which was by no means a cornerstone of the book and was only mentioned maybe three times, is the notion that is a robot APPEARS intelligent we should assume is IS intelligent. To paraphrase Aristotle, A = A... A does not = non A. While it is understandable that people will side with their emotions over their reason/rationale, that does not mean that it is correct. Perspective is not always reality.
This was an excellent book, and one you likely won't regret reading.
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