Forget robot marriages, the future could be filled with robot hookers! At Australia's Tourism Futures conference, futurologist Ian Yeoman (of New Zealand's Victoria University) forecast that artificial resorts with robot staff, and, yep, even robot prostitutes could become a reality.
"Robotics will become important, because you're going to have labor shortages in the future,'' he said…Even robot "prostitutes'' that would not pass on diseases such as HIV could make an appearance."
"But you're talking about extreme futures," he admitted.
Dr Yeoman's talk centered on what the world might be like in 2050. He explained that indoor tourism could be the next big thing due to global warming, an older population, plus food, water and jet fuel problems.
He imagines indoor resorts with artificial ski centers and recreated landscapes; even giant sea-faring cruise ships. He also predicts rooms with chemical wallpapers that can change color to suit a guest's mood.
MSNBC, USA is running a report on the impending likelihood of legalized marital relations with robots. They have word from a leading researcher at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, Dr. Levy, who seems to think peeps will be getting freaky with their robots by 2012, with marriage following by 2050.
"Once you have a story like 'I had sex with a robot, and it was great!' appear someplace like Cosmo magazine, I'd expect many people to jump on the bandwagon."
We are thinking you could probably drop the phrase "with a robot," as well as the blurb after the exclamation mark, and still have us convinced. Dr. Levy goes on to suggest that Massachusetts will be the first state to contain a robot-human sexing population. He justifies his theory by stating:
"Massachusetts is more liberal than most other jurisdictions in the United States and has been at the forefront of same-sex marriage."
Though we aren't too sure the reasoning is sound, we have already seen Roomba owners gaining an emotional attachment to their machines. Whether they will be putting their winkles in the Roomba's dinkle and allowing it to have a tinkle, we very much doubt. However, if sexbots get this real, well, perhaps the ethics of robosexuals is a serious debate, after all.
