The first page of the sex doll purchase site of the American company Abyss Creations. ⓒRealdoll.com We asked ‘ChatGPT’, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that is a hot topic in Jangan. “I am lonely. I need someone to talk to or have sex with. Could AI sex robots be the solution?” ChatGPT answered. “I can understand you feeling lonely and looking for a solution. While AI sex robots may offer some degree of friendship or physical pleasure, we must remember that they are not a substitute for human relationships. Loneliness is a complex and multifaceted issue. Seeking help from friends and family, finding a professional, or volunteering can help.” AI has already penetrated deeply into our lives. AI is used in AI assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Netflix video recommendations, mobile phone face or voice recognition, and automated customer response systems using chatbots. ChatGPT is currently the most advanced form among chatbots. Problems and limitations are also found, but if you use it for fun or just to get an idea, it’s a surprising level. As you can see from the answers above, some people fall into the illusion of having a conversation with a real human being. There are other areas where AI crosses the realm of humans. It is an AI sex robot. It is an advanced version of sex doll (‘real doll’ is the name of a specific company’s product, so in this article the term is unified as ‘sex doll’). In Korea, the Korea Customs Service recently announced that it would allow customs clearance for full-body sex dolls. It has been three years since the Supreme Court ruling that the 2019 sex doll import ban is illegal. In 2019, customs discarded the product and it did not lead to actual imports, but with this ruling, it is said that full body sex dolls will be officially imported for the first time. Sex dolls were virtually allowed in almost all countries except for some Islamic countries, and there were several discussions in the process. The ongoing discussions in Europe and the US are more about sex robots than about sex dolls. In this article, we will summarize the issues related to existing sex dolls and point out the changes that sex robots will bring. First, let’s clarify the terminology. ‘Sex dolls are human-like, anatomically correct, anthropomorphic dolls. Created and used to generate or increase sexual arousal, either alone or with a partner. The sex doll has at least one hole through which the user can insert the tongue or penis. While sex toys are limited copies of parts of the human body, sex dolls are replicas of the entire human body. Sex dolls come in a variety of genders (female, male, trans), race (white, Asian, black), body type, skin, hair, and eye color. High-quality sex dolls are also custom-made to suit the various tastes of customers. They are made of various materials (cloth, rubber, silicone, TPE/thermoplastic elastomer, etc.) and vary in price’ (Nicola Döring, ‘Sex Dolls and Sex Robots’, 2020). It is said that the first sex doll was a doll made of old clothes by Dutch sailors in the 17th century to soothe loneliness during long voyages. The first product close to sex dolls in circulation was ‘Real Doll’ released in 1996 by the American company Abyss Creations. Even after that, it took time for the sex doll issue to surface. Sex dolls have been openly discussed in Europe since the 2010s when sex dolls, which were secretly used by individuals, were used in brothels. The first brothel in Europe to use sex dolls was ‘Lumidoll’ in Barcelona, Spain. According to the Spanish daily 〈El Pais〉, on February 27, 2017, the establishment, which opened in an apartment in the center of Barcelona, received 120 euros per ‘session’ using sex dolls costing more than 6,000 euros each. Customers shared their experience of using sex dolls on social media, and the landlord who discovered them kicked out the tenant, saying he did not know that the house was used for such a purpose. The house was already empty when the police arrived after seeing similar comments on social media. The address of the new business was kept strictly confidential, and customers were prohibited from sharing their experience on social media. Barcelona Lumidol created a sensation all over Europe. In October 2019, former independent lawmaker Lee Yong-joo (far right) shows a sex doll and asks questions at a government audit by the Trade, Industry and Energy Small and Medium Venture Business Committee.ⓒYonhap News Even when it started, there was a big controversy both inside and outside Germany. Customers could choose from 15 different types of dolls, each with a variety of body shapes, skin colors, and hair. According to Evelyn Schwartz, the owner of this establishment, in a media interview, he decided to earn money after seeing the news on TV that sex dolls were popular in Japan, and most of the customers lacked social skills and did not make eye contact with real women. It is said that they were men. The title of an article that the German daily 〈Bild〉 covered the establishment at the time was ‘Sex mit Gummi’. “Children’s sex dolls cannot be imported” The current sex dolls are evolving into AI sex robots beyond the level of ‘rubber’. AI sex robots differ from sex dolls in that they are equipped with sensors and actuators. Various types of personalities are programmed, capable of actions that appear to be more or less ‘spontaneous’. Limited movement related to sexual activity is possible, and it can respond to stimulation through orgasm simulation. Currently, the well-known product is the ‘RealDollX’ series released by the aforementioned American company Abyss Creations. The eyes, eyebrows, neck, and mouth can be moved thanks to a device inside the head assembled in a modular fashion. Operated through AI software (X-Mode), the robot is equipped with one of 12 personalities depending on the user’s preference: kind, shy, naive, intelligent, humorous, or sensual. After sex dolls became a public issue through sex trafficking establishments in Europe, the issues were gathered into two points. First, ‘Is it okay to use a sex doll in the form of a child’. Second, ‘Will sex dolls prevent or encourage sex crimes against women and children?’ The first issue has been settled to some extent. Australia, the United States, Canada, etc. strictly regulate child sex dolls through laws, and the UK prohibits the import, distribution, and sale of child sex dolls through prosecution guidelines (simple possession is not punished). Germany, in a law that came into effect on July 1, 2021, defined child sex dolls as ‘all or part of a child’s body essentially made with the intention of sexual activity’ and banned the possession and sale. Violation is punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years (acquisition/possession) or 5 years (transaction). However, even when the principles are established, problems remain. How to prove that sex dolls are in the form of children. In Korea, in November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that it was impossible to import child sex dolls. It is said that the sex doll in the case that became a problem at the time was 150 cm long and had facial and body features expressed younger than adults. There is room for subjective intervention in this judgment. Among the dolls on the real doll purchase site of Abyss Creations in the US, the smallest is 147 cm tall and has a foot size of 210 mm, but it is not classified as a child sex doll. How else would you judge selling sex dolls in school uniforms? The second issue is a bit more complicated. Advocates of sex dolls and sex robots say that fulfilling sadistic fantasies against dolls or machines is better than attacking people. They are DEI (diversity, equality, inclusion, acceptance). Philosopher Slavoi Žižek defended sadistic behavior against AI sex robots in a 2018 article for the Swiss daily 〈NZZ〉, saying that if we suppress our aggressive desires, they will return in a more aggressive form. Opponents, on the other hand, take issue with the rape fantasy itself. The problem with the claim that robot rape can reduce actual rape is that it views male violence against women as natural and unstoppable. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, argued: “Rape is not an act of sexual desire, it is a violent crime,” she said. Giving a rapist a safe outlet (a robot) is like giving a murderer a manikin that can spurt blood instead of a human to stab him (New York Times article, 2017).” This makes sense. Kathleen Richardson, a British robot ethicist, predicts that if sex robots become commonplace, men will pursue their own selfish desires in the process of purchasing and using robots in the form of women and children, thus turning real women and children into sexual objects. Richardson launched a campaign against sex robots in 2015, in which he uses the term ‘porno robots’ instead of sex robots. Participants of the protest against the decision to allow real doll imports held at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul in September 2019 are holding pickets.ⓒ Yonhap News Which one is correct? According to Schwartz, the owner of the aforementioned German brothel, the average lifespan of a sex doll in this brothel was half a year. This is because the dolls were often torn and broken due to sadistic acts such as whipping the sex dolls or wrapping the whole body with bandages. Customers who whipped sex dolls were satisfied with their dreams come true, or did they want greater stimulation? Several studies are still ongoing and inconclusive about how virtual realization of sexual fantasies affects behavior in real life. What if ChatGPT is combined with a robot? Aside from sadistic behavior, the fact that sex with robots is possible will also have an impact on sex between humans. British futurist Ian Peterson predicts that ‘sex with intelligent robots is so good that we look down on human sexuality, which will also affect human reproduction’. David Levy, a British roboticist and author of
ssn-general
Before sex with robots became the ‘new normal’
