Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots (Bloomsbury Sigma)

Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots (Bloomsbury Sigma)

by Devlin Kate (Author), Kate Devlin (Author)

Synopsis

The idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the myth of Laodamia in Ancient Greece to twenty-first century shows such as Westworld, robots in human form have captured our imagination, our hopes and our fears. But beyond the fantasies there are real and fundamental questions about our relationship with technology as it moves into the realm of robotics. urned On explores how the emerging and future development of sexual companion robots might affect us and the society in which we live. It explores the social changes arising from emerging technologies, and our relationships with the machines that someday may care for us and about us. Sex robots are here, and here to stay, and more are coming. Computer scientist and sex-robot expert Kate Devlin is our guide as we seek to understand how this technology is developing. From robots in Greek myth and the fantastical automata of the Middle Ages through to the sentient machines of the future that embody the prominent AI debate, she explores the 'modern' robot versus the robot servants we were promised by twentieth century sci-fi, and delves into the psychological effects of the technology, and issues raised around gender politics, diversity, surveillance and violence. This book answers all the questions you've ever had about sex robots, as well as all the ones you haven't yet thought of.

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 288
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Bloomsbury Sigma
Published: 18 Oct 2018

ISBN 10: 1472950895
ISBN 13: 9781472950895
Book Overview: An exploration of humans, sexuality, interaction and technology through the lens of the sex robot.

Media Reviews
This brilliant book is an intelligent, clear-eyed and often very funny deep dive into the history and future of love and machinery. -- Warren Ellis, author of Transmetropolitan
After millennia of fornicating with foreign objects, the ultimate sex toy has finally arrived. Kate Devlin unpacks the very long, very dense history of the sex robot with style and wit. Spoiler alert: we haven't reached Westworld ... yet. -- Christopher Trout, Editor-in-Chief, Engadget
In Turned On, Kate Devlin - the thinking person's navigator to the complex and potentially life-enhancing terrain of the sex robot - looks at the history of AI-enhanced erotic toys, then ventures far beyond our wildest imaginings. -- Rowan Pelling, Editor of The Amorist
Author Bio
Kate Devlin is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College London. Having begun her career as an archaeologist before moving into computer science, Devlin's research is in the fields of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), investigating how people interact with and react to technology in order to understand how emerging and future technologies will affect us and the society in which we live. A few years ago, Kate began to explore the particular ways in which sex, gender and sexuality might be incorporated into cognitive systems such as sexual companion robots; since then she has become a driving force in the field of intimacy and technology. In short, Kate has become the face of sex robots - quite literally in the case of one mis-captioned tabloid photograph. She has written articles on the subject for New Scientist, Prospect and i, appeared on BBC Radios 1-5, and made a number of TV appearances, along with TEDx talks and numerous other tech and philosophy events, receiving significant media coverage on the way. She was probably the first person to say `sex robots' in the House of Lords - in an official capacity, at least. @drkatedevlin