Ex-Bell Labs AI researcher unveils first life-size AI-driven sex robot

[andreyf]

Inspiration for the sex robot sprang from the September 11, 2001 attacks. "I had a friend who passed away in 9/11," Hines said. "I promised myself I would create a program to store his personality, and that became the foundation for Roxxxy True Companion."

That one detail, I did not expect.

[jacquesm]

What a load of tripe. You can promise yourself anything but this seems to be just a convenient hook to attach a quest for money and an advanced sex toy to.

There is nothing respectful about having someone pass away like that and then to use their memory as an excuse for something this tasteless. Assuming that's even true.

If I were his friend I'd feel less than honoured. Something along the lines of 'thanks for remembering but leave me out of it please'.

Or are 9/11 victims now fair game in marketing nonsense?

The AI claim is also complete rubbish.

She can't vacuum but "has a full C cup and is ready for action", that's some impressive AI there.

Ira Levin is turning in his grave.

[knv]

I am a little perplexed here. His friend died and then as a way to restore his personality he created a female sex robot?!

[eam]

In case you want to see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7NhBEx6Ank

[prawn]

The bit where he's awkwardly fingering the sex doll's uncanny valley to trigger some robotic response is the most depressing thing I've seen so far this year.

[coffeeaddicted]

It might at first look like a puppet with pre-recorded voice samples trigger by buttons. But looking at her face you can see clearly that her advanced artificial intelligence is just too shocked to still move her body or close her mouth.

[Jach]

After watching that I wondered: this is AI? Is it anything more complicated than various sensor interrupts to a processor that then outputs a voice sample depending on the sensor and the "personality" setting?

[btilly]

Thanks for that. The video makes it clear exactly how pathetic the "interactivity" really is.

[djcapelis]

I sure hope they program these with the ability to recognize safewords.

[dandelany]

"Robotic movement is built into 'the three inputs' and a mechanical heart that powers a liquid cooling system."

That's just creepy. Not the fact that a heart-like pump keeps the internal computer cool. The fact that someone, somewhere, is falling asleep to a mechanical heartbeat...

[djcapelis]

Well, let's not go overboard. Many people fall asleep to the sound of mechanical heartbeats or mechanically assisted heartbeats every day.

Besides just pacemakers, there's mechanical hearts that do everything from help out or completely replace a heart until a new one can be found.

[ivankirigin]

AI-driven is a bit of a stretch here. If you include common sense perception, reasoning and action, this robot is far from state of the art. Did I read that right, that it can't move any limbs? How can one possibly even come close to thinking this thing is real?

Those girlfriend sims promise a better relationship, because their faults aren't as constantly glaring http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/20/man-to-marry-his-vid.ht...

[jacquesm]

Exactly. It's just a cheap marketing ploy. It worked though.

[emarcotte]

Latent appliance fetishist rejoice.

L. Ron Hoover and the First Church of Appliantology would approve. Of course, it did mention that it didn't vacuum, so maybe not.

[zephjc]

realdoll + tickle-me-elmo = this

[mapleoin]

It's sad when I find the same news on hackernews that I just saw on the front page of the free subway newspaper.

[rdtsc]

And for course it is running plan 9 ;-)

[eru]

Sources?

[byrneseyeview]

Apparently she says some very anti-semitic stuff. See the video.

http://mreugenides.blogspot.com/2010/01/roxxxy-anti-semitic-...

[zitterbewegung]

If Futurama is right (which doesn't seem that far fetched). This could be the start of the end of civilization as we know it.

[vaksel]

looks like he started off fine, but then got bored by the time he got to the face. Talk about your butterface.

[philk]

Faces are the hardest part to get right.

[brianobush]

hmm, costs more than a real-doll (6k). Wonder there is a future merger of real-doll and this company. One makes awesome bodies and the other brains?

[Kliment]

Well, if you look at either, neither one nor the other has an awesome body OR brain.

[nostrademons]

She needs a haircut.

[huhtenberg]

This is so sad.

[anonjon]

"A male sex robot named Rocky is in development."

So can you buy one of each and mate them and produce the second generation?

Genetic programming ftw.

[clistctrl]

That brings an interesting point. I'm not particularly well informed here, but i'm curious. Most genetic algorithms I've seen work by taking a source adding a "mutation" then testing it against a goal. How would a genetic algorithm change if there wasn't a defined goal, but instead an eco-system that decides for itself what is most desirable.