MarcosZeitola wrote:S_Parc wrote:At that rate, the rise of robotic companions, starting only some 10 years from now, will be the greatest sociological phenomena in the history of humankind. This will surpass what the Ford Model T did to the horse and carriage for the 20th century. We may see the end of marriage by the next century.
They are too damn expensive. Way more expensive then any car, so not comparable in any way to a Model T, popularized in large part due to it's affordability. The type of man possessing the funds to buy such a robot has enough money to never need one in the first place... it's the poor man who is most likely lacking in romantic companion, and the poor man who needs such artificial love. But he'll never be able to afford it. The rich man can get laid easy as f**k.
Hardly anybody will send massive amounts on a fake, creepy, uncanny-valley female robot when the same massive amounts grant him the status and ability to bang hot living, breathing, warm women of flesh and blood some of whom are good enough actresses to delude him into believing it's love.
It's not a thing I see happening... like the Japanese Real Dolls phenomenon, it's a relatively small fringe group consisting of almost exclusively social outcasts and other societal misfits. Not exactly a huge market likely to change the world or economic market drastically any time soon. The costs are higher then the results, it is creepy, and it won't happen. Mark my words.
PS: Hate them or love them, but no mentally sane man would choose banging a robot over banging a sexy woman of flesh and blood. It's nature. Can't fight nature. Eliminating nature isn't progress.
The costs will go down dramatically. And it isn't about so-called human progress, it's about the proliferation of information technologies vis-a-vis high speed computing which is a macro-trend, affecting the world faster than ppl can adapt to it.
The current industrial multi-purpose bot, Baxter, is $25K. Something like that would have costed 5 to 10 times as much for a custom manufacturer, only a decade ago. Actually, it wasn't even available, you'd have had to buy several of those prior generation 'bots to do what Baxter could do at a fraction of the cost.
I'd written a lengthy thread on this whole topic. The real dolls/mannequins and all that jazz doesn't touch upon what's around the proverbial corner, though not exactly in the next few years, as the timing of it is non-linear, since it's based upon convergence.
viewtopic.php?t=10078
If you walk around any modern US or western city today, you'll see half the population completely hooked on their handheld devices. And why it that? It's an addictive interactive medium. A mannequin, however, is a fetish toy. It's no different than a kid playing with a plastic dinosaur. Eventually, kids lose interest and find themselves going for a newer toy. The kid, as a person, changes, the inanimate object, however, cannot. This is where software comes into play.
At some point in time, the voice on the other side of that digital assistant pad will be able to respond to one's actual questions and be able to host a conversation. That type of stuff will also fold into advanced robotics, down the road, as 'bots are an interface between vision processing and bio-mechanical information processing and synthesis.
Then, on the social front, add in the 2/3's divorce rate and the number of old people in hospice centers. Many will be helped by robot medical assistants and mobile digital companions, as a full time staff member would easily cost more than $25K by 2030 dollars. Insurance companies will love them, as it'll allow for a medical or hospice facility to be run, with half the current staff in place. Many 'bots will also be home care assistants, kinda like having a full time nurse in one's house. And then, there's be a convergence as the robot medic could also serve as a a surrogate sex partner and you'll see ... there will be sex robots, not too different from the Valerie 23 in the Outer Limits episode on the other thread, minus the red herring of consciousness, as AI will not be "conscious" until some distant century if ever, but its ability to perform like humans will occur much faster.
I've also attached it here.
Many years ago, the Best Picture of 1999, "American Beauty", telegraphed the message of Happier Abroad to the world.
Beware of long term engagements with AWs, you may find yourself in a coffin.
AB discussion thread
BTW, despite settling down with an AW, myself, the warning is still in effect.