A pragmatic take on A.I. girlfriends, sexbots, etc.
A pragmatic take on A.I. girlfriends, sexbots, etc.
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403 Forbidden.
There seems to be a growing discourse, which I'm sure some of you here are privy to, to the effect that when women are afforded economic agency and thus romantic/sexual agency, they simply aren't attracted to the bottom percentile (be this the bottom 20% or the bottom 80%) of men, rendering it difficult to impossible for this bottom percentile to get dates, sex or relationships. I don't know whether this is in fact true, or something the internet has memed up, although based on my own dating experiences, and those of numerous other men I know, I do have to wonder if there might be some truth to it. Predictably, in conservative/manosphere spaces this leads to a lot of discourse to the effect that women must have economic and thus romantic/sexual agency taken away from them or else Western Civilization will collapse, argbargle. Elsewhere (albeit oftentimes in the same manosphere spaces, and there with a distinct, breathless air of craving for vengeance), it leads to discourse about A.I. girlfriends, sexbots, etc.
I was just wondering what people here's takes on the latter were? Assuming that there is in fact any validity to this discourse, and assuming that the aforementioned technologies aren't just some sci-fi pipe dream over one-hundred years away. Feminists cite potential issues with such technologies (i.e... the fermenting of unrealistic, sexist conceptions about women and consent), and I see their points. At the same time, though... I'm not comfortable with the idea of withdrawing women's aforementioned agency. And if it is indeed true that such agency begets such male involuntary celibacy, then I do, in turn, have to exhibit concern about the potential effects of that. Not only about the psychological effects it could have on such men as individuals (i.e... I don't believe that it would be humane to simply abandon such a potentially large population to potential depression and suicidality), but also about the sociological effects it could have on society. I.e... could a potentially huge surplus of unmarried men who feel they have no prospects and nothing to live for or lose in life eventually become a societally-destabilizing force? Could they become a dangerous, destructive criminal underclass? If yes, then I have to wonder if such technologies as sexbots wouldn't be the most humane means, altogether, of placating them.