Page 8 - IAV Digital Magazine #435

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Sex Robot Sent For Repairs After Being Molested at Tech Fair
By Tomasz Frymorgen
An AI sex doll has been left “heavily soiled” and in need of repairs after being repeatedly molested while on display at a tech fair.
The £3,000 Samantha
sex robot suffered two broken fingers and was left in a filthy state by a barrage of male attention at the Arts Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria.
According to the Metro, the doll’s developer, Sergi Santos, from Barcelona, Spain complained, “The people mounted Samantha’s breasts, her legs and arms. Two fin- gers were broken. She was heavily soiled.”
The 'intelligent' doll can reply when spoken to and reacts to being touched in places like her breasts
and hips – for instance, by moan- ing.
However, it seems that Samantha was not built for the kind of physical interaction that she encountered at this global tech fair, which this year focused on artificial intelligence.
“People can be bad,” said Santos. “Because they did not understand the technology and did not have to pay for it, they treated the doll like barbar- ians.”
The incident is like- ly to further fuel debate over the growing popularity of AI sex dolls.
A number of stud- ies have reported a significant number of people
saying they would be in favour of using sex robots, with a recent online survey of heterosexual men finding that 40% of those surveyed said they would
buy an AI sex robot within the next five years.
Some researchers, sexologists and doll manufacturers have argued that the growth in the popularity of sex robots could have far-reaching conse- quences, such as reducing sex-traf- ficking, preventing sexually transmit- ted diseases and even
potentially replac- ing traditional sex- work.
This February saw the opening of Europe’s first sex- robot brothel, in Barcelona, which boasts on its web-
site of offering “totally realistic dolls both in their movements and in their ‘feel,’” that will “allow you to fulfill all your fantasies without limits.” Operating out of an apartment, it advertises four dif- ferent dolls with rates starting at €80 (£70) for a 30- minute “service".
Meanwhile, a Dublin brothel that introduced a sex doll in July at the price of €100 (£88) per hour
has reportedly attracted hundreds of new customers.
However, other sexologists and
researchers are keen to point out the potential nega- tive impact that the growth in sex-doll usage could have on those seeking an emotional, as well as a physical, connection.
“A lot of what peo- ple (and it's largely men) get from using sex workers, is actually the rela- tionship,” says Dr Leila Frodsham, Institute of Psychosexual Medicine. “Many of my patients with sexual dysfunc- tions won't actually even have sex with these women - they will go and talk to them.”
Frodsham recog- nises that sex dolls could have thera- peutic functions - for example, as a bridge towards a real-life sex for men who are used to only ejaculating through masturba- tion. But she remains concerned that sex dolls are yet another symp- tom of the 'porni- fied' culture that young men find themselves grow- ing up in.
Back at the Electronica Festival, the
rather inhuman contact the Samantha doll endured has led to her being shipped back to Barcelona for cleaning and repairs.
Despite this slightly sordid setback, her career still looks promising.
“Samantha can endure a lot, “ says Santos. “She will pull through.”
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