The Future Is.... (wait for it)... Coming

Sorry. I just couldn't resist that pun. Just like I can't resist telling everyone I know about this.

Yeah. So, just like I've been telling you for years now, it was only a matter of time before the sex industry started investing in robotics. I just didn't think it would be marketed by a game company, is all.

Basically, this is software that interfaces with... uh... hardware (that pun was accidental) including a set of Virtual Reality goggles and a... erm... vibro tube. You're watching an anime girl give you a virtual handy while the tube moves in unison with her. So, you're basically doing it with a robot. Ha!

So, okay. I'm immature enough to giggle at that. But, you know, I don't really have anything against that. Not as is. (Although, I am a little weirded out by people who get aroused by anime. Mainly because there are so many "schoolgirl"-type characters.) The problem I could potentially have with this is just that--if this robot can simulate sex with anime characters, then what's next? Will there be the same kind of 3D porn for this device that there is in 2D on the internet right now?

Yes, of course there will be. And that's a problem. Because if the simulation is not real, what is the crime? Are we punishing people for what they think? Should we? What if a person who had urges but never acted on them was able to act on them using this software? And then they became emboldened enough to do it for real? Or became so numbed to the stimulation of the simulation that they have to commit the real act to get enjoyment out of it? Isn't it very much like people watching Faces of Death and then murdering people? That shit happens.

So then, what? Do we tightly regulate the industry so no software featuring children, torture, or violence is produced and sold? What then, about the imports from countries that are less vigilant about that? And what about the homemade stuff, done by any one of thousands of programmers who can do this kind of stuff? And what about when the graphics become so good it's almost real. (Think of how video game graphics have improved, just over the last couple of years.)

And, even if we have a "game" manufacturer that conforms to all laws and guidelines, will the retailers? I've got to say, most stores don't even pause if you try to purchase a CD with an Explicit Lyrics label or a MA-rated video game. And even if they did, who couldn't get an adult to buy it for them? (Think how easy it was to get someone to buy booze for you before you were 21.) And even if the game manufacturers and retailers are all playing by the rules, what if your friend's older brother or uncle or dad has a copy? (I know. That's gross. But that could happen.)

So what's the answer? I don't know. I don't think the "Handy Robot" is bad, in itself. No more than a can-opener would be to blame for the contents inside the can or for the relative health of the person who eats the contents. Should we have sex with robots? I don't know. A lot of people say we shouldn't eat mass-produced food.

But I do think these things are in the future and we need to think about them. We need to know how we feel about these things. Is there a line and where is it drawn?

Discuss.