Robot Prostitutes as Alternatives to Human Sex Workers

− Recent discussions on roboethics have introduced the subject of sex with robots. The first sexbots are likely to be operational around the end of the current decade, their development being based on technologies that already exist in different types of commercially available artifact. The very high cost of the early generations of sexually functioning robots will cause the hire of robots for sex, rather than their purchase, to become commonplace. The most often stated motivations for hiring human sex workers are discussed in relation to how these motivations could be satisfied by robots. Five ethical aspects of robot prostitution are introduced and discussed. “I pay for sex because that is the only way I can get sex. I am not ashamed of paying for sex. I pay for food. I pay for clothing. I pay for shelter. Why should I not also pay for sex? Paying for sex does not diminish the pleasure I derive from it.” − Hugh Loebner [1]