As tech companies continue to develop more and more advanced sex robots, and with love dolls becoming the focus of affection of many lonely people in various corners of the world, some experts start to worry that these trends might have a detrimental effect on relationships between real men and women, the Daily Star reports.
According to the newspaper, Farhad Udwadia, a medical student at the University of British Columbia and a graduate of Harvard Medical School's Masters of Bioethics program and Judy Illes, a professor of neurology at the University of British Columbia, explained that "one of the ethical problems that accompanies the widespread use of robots is the potential for reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes."
They argued that "physical appearance reflects widely held stereotypical expectations of women's beauty — for example, large breasts and a small waistline".
"Such overly sexualised stereotypes about what a physically attractive woman should look like are dangerous. Studies have shown that the hyper-sexualised portrayal of women in media is linked to sexual harassment and an increase of violence towards women. The construction of sex robots in such a manner reinforces negative ideas about identity and roles in sexual relationships," the experts said.
They noted that "sex robots have no likes or dislikes, no strong opinions, are unable to refuse or revoke consent and always submit to their users," which essentially "distorts ideas of what a female companion's role ought to be and could influence the expectations of male users in real life".
"The concern is that if human-robot relationships continue to play out in such a manner, there is a possibility that the way users view and practice consent in their human relationships could shift, with negative consequences for women," Udwadia and Illes said.
The experts also pointed toward acts of violence towards sex robots that have reportedly been observed around the world in recent years, including “decapitation, mutilation and molestation,” warning that “for individuals who might be inclined to act in this way, the availability of a robot to violate could feed these behaviours."