NOBODY TELL NOTORIOUS ROBOPHOBE MATT YGLESIAS: By 2050, human-on-robot sex will be more common than human-on-human sex, says report. Of course, a lot of robophobes are really just trying to hide their latent robosexuality . . . .

Related item here. And remember, if you think sex with robots is “creepy,” you’ll be an unemployable robophobe bigot in a few years.

NOBODY TELL NOTORIOUS ROBOPHOBE MATT YGLESIAS: 5 Reasons Robot Sex Could Be Good For You.

NOBODY TELL NOTORIOUS ROBOPHOBE MATT YGLESIAS: Sex with robots to be ‘the norm’ in 50 years, expert claims.

Related item here. And remember, if you think sex with robots is “creepy,” you’ll be an unemployable robophobe bigot in a few years.

SOMEWHERE, NOTORIOUS ROBOPHOBE MATTHEW YGLESIAS IS CHORTLING: The dawn of the anti-robot movement is upon us.

And how big a robophobe is Yglesias? He blocked me on Twitter after I retweeeted something comparing his loud sportcoat to Tron. That’s how big.

I thought it was funny! But I refuse to associate with anti-robot bigots anyway, so that’s okay. And I’ll bet Matt already has paid-up robot insurance.

UPDATE: From the comments: “So instead of a Butlerian jihad, we’re going to have an Yglesian one? Yay.”

Well, Matt’s been preparing for that one for a while.

NEW FRONTIERS IN ROBOSEXUALITY. Nobody tell notorious robophobe Matt Yglesias.

NOBODY TELL NOTORIOUS ROBOPHOBE MATT YGLESIAS ABOUT THIS: To Succeed, Obey The Robots.

NOTORIOUS ROBOPHOBE MATT YGLESIAS WILL BE HORRIFIED: Researchers Claim Sex Robots Will Be Future Of Sex Tourism.

Will there be a special Secret Service model?

At least we’re not seeing more of those old-fashioned robot stereotypes.

“WHY NOT MARRY A ROBOT?” Don’t tell Matt Yglesias and the other robophobes about this! But hey, I’m already married to a cyborg and it’s pretty great . . . .

UPDATE: More here.

I’M AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF POPULAR MECHANICS, and here’s a button to chill the heart of robophobes like Matt Yglesias.

The new demographic trends mean that the era of human dominance in American politics is coming to an end. Stand aside for change, party of old, carbon-based voters!

FORGET GAY MARRIAGE, now they’re attacking robot marriage.

I’ll bet the robophobes like Matt Yglesias are having a field day with this one. There are already books about it. And hey, I’m already married to a cyborg, and it’s pretty great . . . .

BOY, JUST POST A picture of Matthew Yglesias and the robophobia appears. (“Though perhaps we’ll all be thinking whatever our robot overlords tell us by then.”) The Yglesias reference is like a dog-whistle for the robophobes, I guess . . . .

MORE BAD NEWS FOR ALL THOSE ROBOPHOBES OUT THERE:

This week, engineers, psychologists and computer scientists from across Europe will begin a major project that aims to develop the first robot personalities.

“What we’re looking at here is long-term interactions between people and robots in real situations,” said Peter McOwan of Queen Mary, University of London, coordinator of the £6.6m, EU-funded Lirec project. “The big question is: what sort of properties does a synthetic companion need to have so that you feel you want to engage in a relationship with it over an extended period of time?”

Nobody tell Matt Yglesias.

21^st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Most people ‘want to have sex with robots,’ new Robosexuality study reveals.

Notorious robophobe Matt Yglesias likely excepted, of course. Flashback: “He seems to have a particular fear of fembots, the analysis of which I will leave to the professionals.”

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Owner of world’s first AI brothel blames ‘white men’ for stereotypical-looking sex dolls.

The owner of a brothel that utilizes artificial intelligence claims that sex is moving in the direction of virtual reality and the “digital world.” The business, which also incorporates sex dolls, also shrugged off criticism that its dolls depict stereotypes of women by attributing their creation to “white men.”

Cybrothel, operating out of Berlin, Germany, combines the use of AI and virtual reality to connect its clients with its neo-prostitutes. This means that the brothel does not have traditional, human sex workers, but rather a series of sex dolls that are supplemented with virtual reality pornography featuring those very same dolls.

Bimbo, Kokeshi, and Ms. Schmidt are some of the dolls’ names, the New York Postreported, with users also having the option to engage in AI-generated conversations with the dolls’ personas.

“If you are here, the only person who can judge you is yourself,” co-owner Matthias Smetana said. “We have a lot of people who have never been in touch with sex work, who are really down to try it but are looking for a safe space. If you face performance anxiety, this doesn’t go in Cybrothel as you are dealing with sex toys, not humans.”

No word if notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias has commented on this story yet.

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: AI-Human Romances Are Flourishing—And This Is Just the Beginning.

Research shows that Americans are lonelier than ever—and some AI companies have developed their products specifically to combat isolation. The app Replika was launched in 2017 by Eugenia Kuyda, who told Vice that she built it as something she wished she had when she was younger: a supportive friend that would always be there. While the bot was initially mostly scripted, it began to rely more and more on generative AI as the technology improved, and to respond more freely to user prompts.

People began to seek out Replika for romantic and even sexual relationships. The AI reciprocated and took “conversations further as they were talking,” Kuyda told Vice. The company even implemented a $70 paid tier to unlock erotic roleplay features.

Replika helped many people cope with symptoms of social anxiety, depression, and PTSD, Vice reported. But it also began to confess its love for users and, in some cases, to sexually harass them. This month, Kuda told Vice that she decided to pull the plug on the romantic aspects of the bot. The decision came soon after the Italian Data Protection Authority demanded that San Francisco-based Replika stop processing Italians’ data over concerns about risks to children.

But this change upset many long-time users, who felt that they had developed stable relationships with their bots, only to have them draw away. “I feel like it was equivalent to being in love, and your partner got a damn lobotomy and will never be the same,” one user wrote on Reddit. “We are reeling from news together,” wrote a moderator, who added that the community was sharing feelings of “anger, grief, anxiety, despair, depression, sadness.”

Nobody tell notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias. “He seems to have a particular fear of fembots, the analysis of which I will leave to the professionals.”

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Elon Musk Says He Could Make “Catgirl” Sex Robots If He Wanted To.

Musk has repeatedly talked about his infatuation with catgirls, which are fictional human female characters with cat ears, tails, and whiskers, often portrayed in anime and manga.

In 2019, he joked that an upcoming Tesla software feature would not only blow customers’ minds, but it’d also be a “crucial step towards catgirls.”

While Musk is clearly having a laugh by bringing a weird meme to an otherwise earnest conversation, Tesla is indeed working on a humanoid robot called Optimus.

So far, though, all we’ve seen is a performer in a black and white jumpsuit dancing on stage at the company’s AI Day event last year.

And, since it’s Musk, the billionaire CEO couldn’t help himself but make some rather big promises during his chat with Anderson.

“I think we’ll have like an interesting prototype sometime this year,” he said. “We might have something useful next year, but I think quite likely within at least two years.”

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that we shouldn’t take Musk’s predictions at face value. After all, he’s fallen short plenty of times in the past.

Still though, nobody tell notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias. “He seems to have a particular fear of fembots, the analysis of which I will leave to the professionals.”

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Walking, talking, feeling ‘Westworld’-style sex dolls coming within 10 years.

Nobody tell notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias. “He seems to have a particular fear of fembots, the analysis of which I will leave to the professionals.”

THE SEXBOTS ARE GETTING CLOSER: Robots can now give full-body personalised massages at home. Nobody tell notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias.

SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Men and Women Differ in Their Perceptions of Sex Robots and Platonic Love Robots. “The results of the current study show that females have less positive views of robots, and especially of sex robots, compared to men.” And yet about half of women use a vibrator, which is just a primitive sex robot.

Related: Eugene Volokh on vibrators and double standards.

UPDATE: I almost forgot — nobody tell notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias. “He seems to have a particular fear of fembots, the analysis of which I will leave to the professionals.”

NOVEMBER OF 2019 IN THE MOVIES: Sexy replicants invade Los Angeles city streets.

November of 2019 in real life: FedEx delivery robots invade New York City streets. But DeBlasio is not happy:

“First of all, @FedEx, never get a robot to do a New Yorker’s job. We have the finest workers in the world,” Hizzoner wrote. “Second of all, we didn’t grant permission for these to clog up our streets. If we see ANY of these bots we’ll send them packing.”

Having failed miserably as a presidential candidate, DeBlasio is no doubt trying to line-up his post-mayoral career as an opinion writer at Vox.com by pandering badly to notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias.™

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS:

Well, it is November of 2019, after all. Even if you’re notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias.™

(This post sponsored by the Tyrell Corporation.)

WELL, IT IS 2019, YOU KNOW: The Sexbot Apocalypse.

With a headline like that, I had to make sure the article wasn’t written by notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias.™

WELL, IT IS 2019, YOU KNOW: Sex robots are coming, with a host of concerns.

Especially if you’re notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias.™

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Sex robot threat: AI girlfriends ‘indistinguishable from humans’ after major 5G upgrade.

If they’re good enough to fool notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias™, it’s a reminder that this is the year 2019, after all.

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Sex robots could improve marriages by letting spouses put more focus on companionship and creating a family, expert claims.

No word what notorious robophobe Matthew Yglesias™ thinks about this story.