[Poll] What would you do?

[ministrations]

I think this poll is on topic but admins, feel free to move it elsewhere if you disagree.

We've certainly talked up and down (mostly down) about nonmechanical robots over the past year or two. My preference is for built realistic fembots, but I consider myself inclusive and I see the variety of tastes in our group as one of the strongest things about it.

Having said that, I'm genuinely interested in how many of us would consider quasi-fembots if we had the option. Here's the hypothetical: useful mechanical gynoids and androids don't exist yet. However, there are synthetic biological humanoids for sale, as well as convincingly lifelike holographic programs. Let's assume they are both customizable, programmable and the questions of free will/soul/etc are not in play. (I guess we should also assume that hologram owners are able to have/buy at least some simulated tactile "interaction" with the programs.) Money is no object. Would you still hold out for an "official" robot, or think about trying something else?

Thanks to all those who answer the poll!

[ministrations]

No point in starting a poll without answering my own question. My personal opinion is that I'd probably at least try a hologram, but a synthetic human probably crosses too many boundaries for me.

[Stephaniebot]

I wouldn't want to be passed over for robotization for a hologram lol!

[--NightBattery--]

Replicants are dangerous since they use our same resources and are apparently biologically sourced.
story wise they tend to malfunction and misunderstand human emotional logic.

Holograms have no booty to touch~

[TheShoveller]

Other:


Personally - if everything was an option in our day-to-day life - a built fembot, that looks and acts extremely human-like. It'd be a companion in every sense of the word - someone to talk to, someone to hold, all that sappy crap. Unlike a replicant, she would be able to be fixed - while a severe amount of damage or defect might result in a complete and total memory wipe or "rebuild," she would still be there, even if I'm starting over from square one. A hologram would be a good option if I couldn't afford a fembot, since at least it'd be someone (or something) to talk to, and it'd likely be cheaper than a full-fledged AI-inside-a-metal-shell. A replicant... it's essentially a synthetic human. Man-made, sure, but with all the advantages and disadvantages us fleshies have - we can't just replace parts and fix it up when we take a bullet to the brainpan, or swap out a new heart with an old one (at least, not easily yet.) And with all these organs, the smallest bit of failure and the whole thing can come crashing down in an irreparable manner. While an artificial heart might be readily available, there's not much time between "my original heart stopped beating" and "my brain has officially been damaged / died." A replicant loses an arm... you have a one-armed replicant. A fembot loses an arm, you replace it and repair it.

[ministrations]

Thanks Rman! I think IRL mechanical fembots will come first, but the more you read about holography and about biomedical research......they're all progressing at similar paces. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the three technologies hit the market first.

@Stephaniebot: Based on the poll numbers I think you're safe!

@TheShoveller: Good points. I think most of us would want a "built" or "transformed" mechanical fembot if the option were there. But it's important not to get hung up on labels. Holograms could be completely incorporeal or they could be like Star Trek, where electromagnetic fields etc allow for touch and full interaction with the environment. Replicants could be natural or force-grown clones, but they could also be made of artificial components that just look indistinguishable from human (like Westworld or Eve of Destruction) or a collection of naturally grown parts that are seamlessly stitched together and animated (like Blade Runner but also Bride of Frankenstein etc). The poll question is about genres of technology, and which of these genres would meet people's definition of fembot if they really could buy one, as opposed to theoretically.

[Svengli]

Hmm,

By "replicant", you mean a blade-runner creation? Probably not but it depends on the parameters.

I would prefer a soft, human seeming but actually built and entirely artificial companion. I would not want one with free will but I like capable of being programmed to act as if she had free-will in various, limited circumstance.

I wouldn't want to "enslave" a human-like being.

You couldn't touch a hologram so it would be a non-starter.

[madx1]

Huh, I kinda wish there was a 2 out of 3 option, so Replicant or Robot, but not hologram here. I kinda have a partial bias toward anything physical.

[ministrations]

Huh, I kinda wish there was a 2 out of 3 option, so Replicant or Robot, but not hologram here. I kinda have a partial bias toward anything physical.

I think we'd all probably prefer a mechanical robot, either built or transformed. The question is more about your plan B if these other things were available but robots weren't. It seems like most of us wouldn't settle and would wait for a mechanical robot to show up.

[Miss Pris]

Holograms have no booty to touch~

It's late. I'm tired. Just pictured a bunch of (animated) shiny metal jetson-style fembots with exaggerated <ahem> attributes doing a "booty dance"
ROFLMAO!

[Miss Pris]

This was a difficult question, especially because I WANT the AI/free will component. Because of that, I said I wouldn't "buy" any of the three, but a relationship with either an AI with robot body or a replicant would be better than a hologram to me (unless you got those Star Trek holograms, but we've all seen the various snafus and potentially deadly hijinks that ensue when they malfunction... and they ALWAYS malfunction...) The one good thing about a hologram (and a robot of course) when it comes to free will, is that you can turn off a hologram (or robot) fairly easily, but when your replicant is driving you crazy... I guess you have to drug him or her? That seems excessive, and possibly entering that abusive/crazy category. Turning off a hologram or robot doesn't FEEL the same, as there aren't physiological side effects to "off switch." If they have true sentience and free will though... well, "off-switch" would be just as unacceptable as drugging someone because they were annoying you today. The slopes just start to get slippery when you add the sentience and will.

Also - I think of the problems Krieger has with his hologram fiancee...

[fembot_stalker]

I could not answer this question, because for me, it would be a little bit of all three for me. Although I would say that I would definitely start with the robot, I would like to move on to a hologram and/or a replicant as well. Of course, It depends on what types of fantasies I have at the time and what/who is best qualified to fulfill them with me ...