Matt McMullen is looking to change the adult industry. The inventor of a beyond realistic “friendly doll” is looking to move beyond realistic-looking PVC skeletons and silicone flesh. He wants to not only produce a substitute for the body but for the mind as well.
McMullen and his crew in San Marcos, Calif. are working to give the girls AI. A development still in its infancy, McMullen predicts that within two years customers will be able to buy a head that talks and blinks, formatted with AI that can analyze things customers say and respond accordingly.
McMullen’s task is a monumental undertaking with impressive social benefit. Click here to watch a video documenting the project.
Despite the routine?apprehensiveness, technological advancement is just something that happens. While we may freak out at first and huddle in Luddite corners, ultimately we adjust. Think about how we reacted to the idea of smartphones over a decade ago. Now, everyone and their fifth-cousin has one.
Putting AI in something like a RealDoll could have sweeping, positive impacts on our culture. AI could be the end of red light districts where women are consistently abused and sexually assaulted. In an article published by ExtremeTech, a paper written by Ian Yeoman and Michelle Mars entitled “Robots, Men and Sex Tourism” explains the benefit of android’s in the love trade:
“… robots will cleanse the world of? well, almost every sex-related ill that plagues humanity. With robots that bend and flex and kowtow to our every desire, the sexual side of human trafficking ? the billion dollar trade of moving (usually young) sex slaves around the world ? will disappear. Sexual predators, instead of abducting victims, will be able to order a sexbot to spec; if they want a robot that looks like a young child, or a wrinkly geriatric, so be it.”
Dolls with AI would be a valuable form of companionship for those who are removed from relative society, whether they be antisocial through choice or they suffer from agoraphobia, or they just have problems interacting with people.
These are but some of the positive social changes that could be made. These are the effects of the technological advancements being proposed by people like Matt McMullen.
Director Spike Jonze touched base on this topic with his award-winning film?Her, where a man develops affection for an AI system and they ultimately form an intimate relationship.
Ultimately, androids are going to happen, despite the resistance some people have to the idea. How about instead of worrying about robot uprisings or the “uncanny valley,” we embrace the future and look forward to the positive effects of our innovation.
While the current steps may not revolutionize overnight, they are still important steps that need to be taken. We had to fly a small plane at Kitty Hawk before we could send men to the moon. We had to deliberately infect each other with smallpox before we could eradicate it. Advancements take time and require multiple steps before they begin having widespread impacts on the world.
Those first steps are always valuable.
