David Levy (2) (1945–)

Il titolo gli rende giustizia fino a un certo punto. In realtà, per poter parlare con cognizione di causa (da parte del lettore) dei rapporti uomo-robot, Levy analizza dapprima quelli uomo-uomo, poi quelli uomo-animale e, infine, uomo-animale robot. Semplice concettualmente, ma estremamente efficace. Ricco di aneddoti e notizie sul mondo della robotica ma anche della tecnologia degli ultimi cento anni. Informato senza mai essere noioso - soprattutto nella parte dedicata a tutti i ritrovati tecnici e tecnologici collegati all'industria del sesso, dove si fanno scoperte inaudite (almeno, per me inaudite). Non si può fare a meno di finire l'ultima pagina chiedendosi, con un po' di inquietudine: "e io, lo farei?"… (más)

The structural problem with the delivery of an otherwise fine idea is that Levy's writing is rarely exciting. I appreciate his effort to construct his argument slowly and methodically, yet the result is a fairly boring work, considering the subject matter. Levy spends a lot of time building evidence for the contention that people would have love and sex with androids. Perhaps because I read a lot of science fiction, or perhaps because this conceit does not seem very far-fetched to me, I found much of the book to be plodding and over-explained. The amount of material could be halved with no loss of data and an increase in readability.

The main content problem is that Levy spends much time on this initial point and gives short shrift to the implications of love and sex with robots. He barely addresses the issue of jealousy. As a psychologist, I'm well aware that people are jealous not just of partners' friendships, but also of their online flirtations, use of sexually-oriented chat, online and real life use of pornography, and even the objects euphemistically referred to as "marital aids." Levy's very brief discussion of jealousy is unsatisfactory and would have been very interesting, especially since one of his chief contentions is that people will fall in love with these robots. How then is jealousy not a critical part of this discussion?

As to the love aspect of the book, while I agree with the evidence Levy musters about people falling in love with their robot, I do wonder at his almost quaint coupling of love and sex with robots. I have struggled with how to write this section of my review in a satisfactory way. I will merely say that if I were to imagine myself in the near future when robots with sexual functions were available, if I were to avail myself of this opportunity, I would be less distressed by C3PO than by Data. What I mean by this is that I do not think the appeal of a robot would be its human-like qualities or personality, but its machine-ness and its lack of pretense. Others may not agree, and indeed, I have never liked cosmetic interventions (such as coloring one's hair or getting plastic surgery) that seem to me to be physical lies. Levy presents sufficient evidence to the contrary that I recognize that I might be in a minority.

The other issue that troubles me is that though Levy makes many efforts to include homosexuality in his discussion, it is usually as an example of a cultural taboo that has been progressively normalized (at least in the US and EU). He makes mention of the possibility of same-sex (sic) robots, but his robot/human love story is heavy on love, light on sex, and generally heterosexually recuperative--that is, the examples he gives are "heterosexual." It is as if robots must be gendered in order to be sexual objects. Robots constructed for sexual purposes are built as male or female, and sexual orientation is implied to carry over to sex with them. This seems strangely prudish, or at least evinces a surprising lack of imagination.… (más)

Welcome to New Earth

I have a confession to make: my BSG OTP isn’t Starbuck and Apollo. Or Starbuck and Anders. It isn’t Lee and Doulla, Saul and Ellen Tigh, or even Captain Adama and President Roslin (as lovely as their relationship was). My favorite coupling in the entire series is Helo and Athena – Karl Agathon and his Cylon wife. She defected to the human side of the war to be with him; he saved the Cylons from certain genocide. Their love survived and flourished in spite of overwhelming odds. The product of this love, daughter Hera – the very first human/Cylon hybrid – joined the first settlers of New Earth, eventually becoming Mother Eve to us all.

Perhaps, then, I’m not the best judge of David Levy’s Love + Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships, seeing as I’m already sold on the idea. (Assuming, of course, that we one day develop sentient, self-aware robots. Otherwise it’s all just physical and mental masturbation, don’t you think?) Drawing upon decades of psychosocial research, Levy – an expert on artificial intelligence and author of Robots Unlimited (2005) – explores two (really three) separate but related topics: 1) Will robot evolution result in androids that are physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from humans and, if so, will humans prove willing to enter into 2) emotional and 3) sexual relationships with them?

Levy answers these questions with a resounding – if sometimes overenthusiastic - “YES!” Tracing the history of sex toys, Levy demonstrates that humans are already “having sex” (read: masturbating) with technology, and have been for some time: consider, if you will, sex dolls, vibrators, virtual reality, teledildonics, and the like. Whereas sexual aids were a source of shame (and even criminal prosecution) in days past, they’re now sold openly in Western societies. Likewise, many people retain the services of sex workers at one time or another; taking into account their reasons for doing so, robotic sex workers seem inevitable. On the “love” side of the equation, Levy delves into psychological research which parses out the hows and whys of human relationships - and adeptly explains how most (though not all) of these factors would play out in human-android couplings. He points to peoples’ attachment to their robotic and virtual “pets” - such as the Tamagotchi and Digimon - as an example of how we extend attachments from sentient, organic beings (dogs, cats, gerbils) to their artificial (albeit not quite intelligent – not yet!) counterparts.

While Levy presents a compelling argument, there are also a few missed opportunities. Given that popular culture – movies, television shows, literature, music, etc. – both reflects and influences social mores, I would’ve liked to have seen a discussion of human-robot relationships in pop culture. Blade Runner, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alien, Star Trek, Wall-e, Futurama, A.I. – there are so many from which to choose! An examination of the audience’s reaction to human-Cylon couplings in BSG, for example, might evince how viewers feel about “love + sex with robots” – in theory at least. Further, a generation of kids weaned on shows that positively portray such relationships is bound to be more receptive to the idea in practice.

More problematic is Levy’s near-total failure to examine the ethical implications of such relationships. As objects – pieces of property belonging to their human owners – can robots even be said to have sex or fall in love “with” humans? “With” implies some degree of reciprocity, which requires not just intelligence but also free will. If robots are made to order and can be reprogrammed at the owner’s whim, can their “choice” to enter into an emotional or sexual relationship with a human (particularly their owner/programmer) ever be truly consensual? And how can a mere piece of property, with the same legal status and moral standing of a tv or computer, enter into a legal contract such as a marriage?

Some will argue that a robot can be re/programmed to enjoy whatever fate her owner has chosen for her. If the robot is “happy” with her treatment, then, what’s the harm? Consider the following scenario, if you will. John Smith is a misogynist. He gets off on humiliating, hurting, and dominating women. Rather than rape human women and risk jail time (a slim risk, but that’s another matter), he decides to buy a robot and program her to “enjoy” physical and sexual abused. Is this acceptable? Why or why not?

But let’s say that John doesn’t want “his” robot to enjoy being treated so poorly; after all, causing a woman to suffer is the best part! Suppose the robot is programmed to merely tolerate his sadism, or perhaps to be traumatized by it. What then? Or maybe John Smith is a pedophile or zoophile. Is “sex with” a child or nonhuman animal somehow more ethical if these children and animals are artificially created? Where’s the line? Is there a line?

At times Levy describes these future robots as “conscious” and “sentient” without going into further detail. If androids do evolve to the point that they are sentient – capable of feeling pain and suffering – are they not deserving of the same rights that humans enjoy, regardless of how they came into being? (As a vegan, my answer is obvious: I believe that ALL sentient beings have the right to live free of human oppression. Or perhaps “human/oid oppression” is a more accurate phrase, at least in the context of this discussion!) Chief among these is these is autonomy – the right not to be treated as an object, bought, sold, and owned by others. For robots and humans alike, the right to control one’s own body – mind/programming included – is also a basic “human” right. If it’s acceptable to reprogram a sentient android to do your bidding, then what about naturally created humans (a la Dollhouse)?

These moral quandaries are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg – and, while I realize that a satisfactory discussion of these could easily take up an entire book or even series of books, Levy would have been well served not to relegate them to a passing mention in the conclusion. Doubly so since some of these issues go to the very core of his argument: namely, that humans will one day fall in love and have sex with robots. This is only possible if robots are equal partners, capable of falling in love and having sex of their own accord. Otherwise it’s not love and sex - but rather rape, masturbation, and one-way object attachment.

Given how we treat our fellow earthlings, I think it’ll take the equivalent of a Cylon rebellion to realize Levy’s vision.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2012/05/04/love-and-sex-with-robots-by-david-levy/… (más)