What would the world be like with gendered robots that were fully functional? had sexual desires?

Question

This idea is also explored in Issac Asimov's Robots series.

For these questions assume that the robots must obey the 3 laws of robotics.

Would they do whatever humans wanted, essentially being sex slaves?
Would they actively go out and seek partners?
Would they replace live actors in porn? (after all they don't get tire, sore, or need a break from the [ahem] activity)
If told to enjoy themselves for the activity, would they be able to?

I'm guessing that "Japan" is not an acceptable answer to this question. :-) But anime has taught me to expect that future. — SRM, Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 1:47
Not sure what prompted the down vote as I see nothing wrong with the question. The porn industry is one of the biggest proponents of technology, consider the internet and what it has done for porn outside of public spaces such as theaters and magazine stands. When robots become human-like enough and cheap enough to buy as appliances, you can bet your bottom dollar that the market will flood with sex robots. I would even go so far as to say that the porn industry will be one of the leading innovators in humanoid robotics. — Nolo, Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 6:56

Cort Ammon · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-08 01:29:41Z

4

By applying the limits you chose (3 laws of robotics + have sexual desires), the only consistent answers are:

Yes, they would do whatever humans wanted, because that is exactly what the second law says they will do. The one exception is if they come to decide that the act is harmful to the human, but that exception exists for all robots under the 3 laws, not just gendered robots.
They would actively go out and seek partners because you stated that they have desires, and one of the key attributes of a desire is that you strive towards it.
The third question you ask cannot be answered with the amount of information given. That answer depends 100% on what the market in your world is.
In Asimov's stories, a robot which has a concept of "enjoyment" is quite rare. However, if any given robot is capable of enjoyment, I would expect them to enjoy it with or without a human telling them to because it's a "desire," and we usually feel enjoyment when we are acting towards a desire.

answered Sep 8, 2016 at 1:29

Cort Ammon

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$\begingroup$ For point 1, like Data in Star Trek who stated he was programmed with various techniques, would they have to be instructed on which to use? Or would they be able to figure out what made their partners happy by themselves? $\endgroup$
– Jesse Cohoon
Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 1:43
1

$\begingroup$ @JesseCohoon That's up to you. One of the things about science fiction like this is that it's not science fact yet. You have to make things up as you go. If the robots in your world are not good at finding their own solutions to things, they'd need instructions. If the robots in your world are highly creative, they'd need no instruction. $\endgroup$
– Cort Ammon
Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 1:45
1

$\begingroup$ There's a book on the subject. David Levy's LOVE AND SEX WITH ROBOTS: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships (2009). I found it in my local public library. We have a great public library system here. $\endgroup$
– a4android
Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 10:43

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