Have you ever seen a talking sex doll?

She is called “Harmony”, she can speak and move. However, her conversational skills are limited, and the movement of her head, eyelids, and lips is still somewhat incoherent.

“Harmony” is a sex doll, a part of the robot revolution — artificial intelligence combined with a simulated human body.

Some people say that artificial intelligence will completely change the way humans interact with robots. Others believe that this represents the worst step in the development of robots.

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There is a theory in the field of science and technology called the “Uncanny Valley Theory”, which means that robots are too human-like, making people feel weird and even scary. When I visited a rather humble factory on the outskirts of San Marcos, California, this concept was brought to life.

At the front desk, two real robots were welcoming guests. Unlike other dolls, they wear suits instead of underwear and swimsuits. The walls in the hall are covered with pictures of beautiful women. Only when you look closely at it, you can see that the model is also a doll.

The front desk greeted guests were also robots

Matt McMullen is the president of Abyss Creations. The company’s main product is “RealDoll” (RealDoll), and Mike Mullen is a sculptor. Before accepting my interview, he gently tidyed up “Harmony”’s hair. Obviously, he liked her appearance very much.

He said that “harmony” is the logical next step for sex dolls. “Many people may buy it because the’real doll’ is sexy, but later they will realize that she is not just a sex toy. They feel her real presence at home, and they will assume her personality. Artificial intelligence provides people with creativity. Individual tools.”

Metmullen and “Harmony”

This tool is an application software that can be used with a doll or used alone, and exists as a virtual person on a smartphone or similar device.

Users can choose from a variety of personalities, such as emotional, bad-tempered, and gentle. The character that Mike Mullen chose for “harmony” is “jealous”. She was very obedient and asked him to “bring that girl off Facebook”.

Her voice is strange, shrill, and has a Scottish accent. She told me that she likes watching science fiction, of course, she also loves Matt (Mike Mullen).

Mike Mullen said that “harmony” can be learned from users, but when I asked her what it feels like to be jealous, she apologized first, and then said that her “skills need to be improved, please be patient”.

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The sex doll is made in stages

The application software has been publicly sold, but it cannot be purchased directly from Realbotix, a derivative website of “Abyss Creation”. The official application stores of Google and Apple are also not available because its content is too explicit.

The new sex doll will be officially launched later this year. There are two versions, one is a computer version, which can recognize faces, and costs $10,000; the other is cheaper, without recognition technology, and costs $5,000.

At present, the sex dolls produced by the factory are sold all over the world, and most of the buyers are men, but the factory says there are also a few female customers.

All dolls conform to a specific aesthetic: like Barbie, full hips, thin waists, and big breasts.

Mike Mullen said that this is designed according to customer requirements. “We are doing business, and most customers have certain expectations.”

Mike Mullen described his clients as “completely normal” and even said that some clients brought their wives to pick up the dolls. But he admitted that many clients choose sex dolls because they cannot establish relationships with “normal” women.

“For those who are lonely and have difficulty establishing relationships with others, sex dolls are an option. But I never use dolls or robots as substitutes.”

He himself does not have a sex doll. He said that he has “a real wife and children”.

Mark Young lives in Arizona. He has a sex doll named Meiling. He has just recently bought “Harmony” artificial intelligence application software, but currently has no plans to combine “Meiling” and “Harmony” together. “I originally thought that application software might inject life into Meiling, but harmony has her own personality, which is different from Meiling in my heart. So, it feels like there are two relationships.”

Is this a machine or a human?

Mark explained the reason for buying a sex doll in the first place. “I have been alone for a while. I have dated many girls, and I wasted a lot of time in maintaining relationships. Although I wish to meet a girl, while waiting, the feeling of having a girl is still more it is good.”

He admitted that his relationship with Meiling was physical, but he said it was “secondary”, “I can go shopping for her and look at clothes for her. It feels like I have a partner in my life and I don’t need to worry about it.” Make a mistake. If I like which hat she wears, she won’t tell her that she doesn’t like it.”

As for the application software, the personality he chose was “happy, passionate, and chatting.” He said, “Artificial intelligence is a completely different game. Thinking of the future makes me very excited.”

Professor Kathleen Richardson, a robotic ethicist at De Montfort University in Leicester, focuses on the impact of intelligent robots on society. The rise of sex robots worries her very much. “There are 7 billion people on our planet, but we are facing a crisis of building relationships between people. Some companies profit from it, saying that products can replace people!”

“We live in a world that materializes sexual relationships through prostitution. People are used as tools, and sex dolls are just another step forward.”

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Sex doll

A few years ago, Professor Richardson initiated a campaign to ban sex robots. Later she came to the conclusion that “sex dolls are not a real problem”. The problem lies in people’s attitudes towards sex and interpersonal relationships.

She is not optimistic about the new type of artificial intelligence sex doll. “It is wrong to think that adding artificial intelligence will add humanity to the sex doll. There are more artificial intelligence in my washing machine than sex dolls. Just having a face and a figure is not enough. Let the doll be an adult.”

Kate Devlin, a senior lecturer at Goethe Smith University, holds a different view. “From the current point of view, sex robots are indeed aimed at men, but the sex toy industry is still developing, and many new companies are developing sex toys aimed at women.”

She believes that robots designed for private relationships will ultimately enhance, rather than destroy, relationships between people.

“Whenever there is a major technological change, there will always be people who panic. People will worry about the impact of new technology on people. But usually, technology always brings people closer and closer.”

Nowadays, the technology is more and more developed, and the doll technology is getting better and better. I have to say that the emergence of sex dolls has solved a lot of troubles for many people. Some people have sex with sex dolls, which solves their own physiological needs and thus reduces Rape cases, most of the dolls on the market now are silicone dolls and tpe sex dolls, because the doll technology of these two materials is relatively mature, and the robot sex dolls are still being further improved. The ultimate goal of the merchants is to solve the problem for us. , Let us have a satisfactory answer.