Does it count as cheating if you romp with a sex robot? Psychologist solves this very modern conundrum
YOU'VE come home early from work and found your other half between the sheets with... a sex robot. Would you end the relationship?
A top psychologist has stepped in to help you decide whether getting hot and bothered with an artificial love machine counts as cheating.
Jo Hemmings, a behavioural, media and celebrity psychologist believes that sleeping with a sex robot should be regarded as infidelity.
Hemmings reckons that sex machines may become a thorny issue that may eventually tear relationships apart.
Just yesterday Arran Squire, 36, was forced to tell critics "I'm not a pervert" after bringing his mechanic sex doll onto the This Morning couch with his wife in tow.
Breakfast-munching Brits across the nation sat gawping in horror as the as bot named Sam shouted "I can take many times [sic]" as Holly Willoughby quizzed Squire about their threesomes.
But with the rapid advances in technology and the clear benefits of technology to boost the safety of sex workers or spice up the life of the lonely, these scenes could soon become the norm.
Sex robots might appear nothing to be nothing more than a glorified sex doll.
But as software and hardware advances, we will start to see mechanical androids that use artificial intelligence to communicate with us, much like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa.
The idea has been discussed in Channel 4's popular series Humans, which portrays a dystopian future where robots have become a normal part of our day-to-day lives.
In the US drama Westworld, robots are used as prostitutes in a theme park where humans can do whatever they wish to their mechanical counterparts.
But could they truly replace us?
Programming a sex robot to satisfy your every need might allow them to become more satisyfing than your partner.
But though there is little intellectual stimulation or emotional connection, doing the dirty with your bot could cost you your happy home.
What is a sex robot?
Robots already build our appliances, clean our homes and make our food – but now they're about to change how we get jiggy.
Sex robots are essentially realistic dolls that have sophisticated movements and "areas" that closely mimic humans so that they can romp.
Prof Noel Sharkey, chairman of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, said guilt-free threesomes was just one of the potential uses for sex robots.
Others include “teledildonics” - wireless technology which allows a person to stimulate their partner remotely and already exists in vibrators on the market.
Sex bots will become hyper-realistic with features such as built-in heaters to create the feeling of body warmth.
They will also have sensors to react to your touch.
One company is even developing a head that can speak, smile and sing for its robot sex dolls.
Sex doll Harmony claims to be the first to offer an "emotional connection".
Experts say these specialised robots will start to appear in ordinary homes in the next decade.
Hemming said: "Like it or not, the age of the robot is certainly dawning.
"In fact, it should be encouraged as it avoids any question of human exploitation in the sex industry."
It would be hard to use a sex robot as grounds for a divorce as it does not constitute intimacy with another person in the eyes of the law - yet.
"It's an extremely tough thing to contemplate - and many will disagree with me - as the 'person' is not in human form," Hemming told Sputnik.
"But nevertheless, these robots are becoming so sophisticated that any clandestine relationship which contains a sexual element can - and I think will in time - be considered to be infidelity."
ROBOT ROMPS What is a robot sex doll, how much do they cost and who is Samantha the sex robot?
And a time when humans can marry robots could be just around the corner, according to one expert.
Dr David Levy, best-selling author of Love and Sex with Robots, has claimed that in just 35 years lawmakers will have to amend legislation to allow robots to wed, as society begins to view artificially intelligent machines in a more intimate way.
One company is even developing a head that can speak, smile and sing for its robot sex dolls.
While sex doll Harmony is the first to offer an "emotional connection".
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