For our future scenario we have focused and narrowed it down from our quadrant to sexual futures as the theme we wished to explore. Before doing any research and just starting out the course I didn’t really think about how much technology has influences on love. I grew up being surrounded by technology and watched the technology advance from dial up connection to wireless connection. So, online dating and using social media to connect with loved ones doesn’t seem futuristic to me anymore and I wouldn’t be too surprised if in the future we have other crazy ideas that seem to farfetched because man kind is already preparing to live on Mars.
Through our quadrant as well as research, it led me to this podcast on Soundcloud about the Future of Sex by Ross Dawson who is a futurist. It was interesting to hear how AI robots will be a part of our sexual relationships on a daily basis in 2045 and by 2025 there will be 3D printed body parts of your lover enabled with touch feedback to add intense realism to long distance sex. It sounds amazing that you can experience a sexual relationship even in a long distance relationship but I think sex robots is not something that I can accept if I find my partner using one.
I researched into sex robots in Japan and they have virtual reality sex suits and virtual reality brides for marriages. Which lead me to think, is that why Japan has such a fast declining birth rate because of sex robots? Japan is already facing a fertility crisis with declining birth rates. With nearly 1/3 of Japanese people heading towards their 30s without experiencing a sexual experience. When a woman was asked why 64% of men aren’t in a relationship, she says that many men can’t be bothered because it’s easier to watch porn online. With this in mind, what would happen to our future generations with technology becoming a huge part of our lives? Looking into marriage statistics in Japan, people are getting married at an older age and less people are getting married, which also influences the declining birth rates. I watched a video of a Japanese man marrying a virtual reality bride; I found it rather disturbing to watch and it just doesn’t seem right to me. If the future of marriages is with Virtual Reality Brides or Grooms, are we slowly killing mankind if no one wants to procreate but to satisfy their own sexual needs?
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Anthony Funnell on ABC radio interviewed professors from different Universities to get an insight on software and robotics on: Making machines more like us. He states, “Making robots more like us is a threatening proposition for some but its crucial if machines are to fulfil their promise.” I questioned why we needed to make robots more like humans? Why do they have to look like us and not cute and round like Baymax from Big Hero 6? Robots are programmed by humans to do a certain task but Fumiya Ilda, a lecturer from University of Cambridge, are improving the robot to become more creative like humans without the help from the programming from humans. I honestly believe that one day it would be like the movie IRobot, where the motherboard that controls robots would program itself and disobey what humans programmed. As it has already been seen in an experiment done by Facebook, where two AI programs appeared to be having their own conversation by creating a new language that they can only understand.
The future is here, I believe that Ai would be a huge part of our daily lives in the future and knowing that robots can form a mind of their own without being programmed in that way scares me, what if they’re already in the virtual world hidden a way from humans and forming their own little society?
REFERENCE
Anthony Funnell, 2015, Making machines more like us on Future Tense, ABC Radio, viewed 10 August 2017, <http://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgZ9G1Xq47>
Future of Sex, 2017, 14: Robot Sex Isn’t That Far Away: Ross Dawson Predicts the Future, SOUNDCLOUD, viewed 11 August 2017, <https://soundcloud.com/futureofsex/14-robot-sex-isnt-that-far-away>
RT QUESTION MORE, 2016, Virtual reality sex suits looks as disturbing as it sounds, viewed 11 August 2017, <https://www.rt.com/viral/338662-virtual-reality-sex-suit/>
Andrew Griffin, 2017, FACEBOOK’S ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ROBOTS SHUT DOWN AFTER THEY START TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, INDEPENDENT, viewed 12 August 2017, <http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-artificial-intelligence-ai-chatbot-new-language-research-openai-google-a7869706.html >
Exploring our sexual futures 