Kraven Kor Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... Whatever the morality or ethical nature of this question, once the technology is truly commercially viable, it will be a reality. From the old "Pocket ....." of old to the "Flesh Light" to the Real Doll... the evolution of mechanical sexual aides has already begun. So the only question one really has to ask is "Do they come in Green?" Actually, as of right now, the Real Doll types are available in dozens of fantasy varieties... from the Blonde / Brunnette / Redhead / Asian models, to the weirder Japanese anime looks... even some that look like children... the ethics of that are disturbing as are the arguments for or against... will a Pedo be "rendered safe to society" by having one of these? Or will it further pervert him and encourage him to act on his illness? Would prostitution being legal and affordable stop rapists, or at least reduce the incidence? Some very challenging psychological and social issues there. As for Strength, yeah I imagine that eventually you will have a lot of choices but the consumer models will be as harmless and safe as possible to avoid lawsuits. The FemBots the .Gov sends to foreign dignitaries might feature more military applications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... will a Pedo be "rendered safe to society" by having one of these? Or will it further pervert him and encourage him to act on his illness? Would prostitution being legal and affordable stop rapists' date=' or at least reduce the incidence? Some very challenging psychological and social issues there.[/quote'] That's the question I asked above: If you are already viewing women a sex objects (instead of persons), will using a fembot get you further in that direction? Does not need to get to one of the extremes...but I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinanju Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... In the case of strength: some might want their fem-bots to be able to lift them, or them and another, up. It could also play into domination fantasies. There may also be the desire for a fem-bot that has greater on the side utility in addition to being able to perform it's sexual duties. No one said anything about "automatic weapons fire". It takes a surprisingly little amount of metal (and this will presumably be futuristic metal, which likely will be more durable) to ward off a great many punches/kicks...and this may even be durability needed for structural integrity. Yes, this could still be the case even when the unit IS relatively lightweight. I don't know how different a robot's electrical anatomy will be from what we have today, but it doesn't seem unreasonable for certain misplacements/errors to slip in... Oh, yeah, and I assume a robot is powered by more than just a Double A battery. (By the way, I wonder who'd have an assault rifle next to their bed while they're getting their Microprocessor Freak on). CONSUMER REPORTS, July 2122 - We've long admired Rossum's Universal Robots. They've been reliable, durable, and easy to maintain. Alas, the same cannot be said of their new line of sexbots. Rushed out in response to the surprising introduction of the Domestic Companion by Wright Robotics, they failed numerous tests. Details follow in the article (click through to read), but suffice to say that a manufacturer of robots destined for manufacturing, mining and other industrial uses may not be the best folk to build a robt intended for more...intimate uses. Our testers suffered a number of injuries, from severe bruising to crushed genitals, and even a near-fatal electrocution while engaged in amorous activities in a hot tub (this despite the manufacturers' claims that such behavior was perfectly safe). We advise our readers NOT to purchase an RUR Sexbot until and unless substantial changes are made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... Companion bots will be as weak and flimsy as they can get away with being; certainly no stronger or more durable than a well-developed human male. I know that it's common, almost universal, to think that robots will by default be stronger and tougher than human beings, but this idea doesn't hold up when you think of them as manufactured devices. You see, strength costs money: more powerful actuators are more expensive than weaker actuators. Durability costs money--stronger, thicker structural elements cost more than weaker, thinner structural elements. "But wait!" you say, "Advanced technology will mean more power and strength in a cheaper, smaller package!" Of course that's true, but it just means that the minimum to do the job will be cheaper and smaller--no matter how cheap a material is, MORE of it will always cost more than LESS of it. An actuator that puts out X torque will always be cheaper than one that puts out 2X torque. If you're not convinced, think about cars. Your daily driver COULD be made with all the advanced technology that goes into cutting-edge race cars, and it would be a better car for it. So why doesn't it have all that? Because it doesn't NEED it to do its job, and you wouldn't pay for it if it were available. So in conclusion, yeah, if you go for the "Amazon" model of companion bot, she might be stronger than the average man, but certainly not superhuman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... The point of Helen O'Loy was that she was humanlike that guys could fall in love with her. The point of the Boucher story was that it didn't make sense to make highly humanlike robots to do everything instead of specializing them for tasks. Although frankly it seems to me that the problem with the Boucher robots went beyond having too much physical ability for their limited tasks. It would be far more important that they had too much mental ability for their tasks. Ah. Thanks for clarifying -- I could only remember bits and pieces of Helen O'Loy -- read it back when the U of I was offering a SF-lit course, sometime in the 80's. Missed the Boucher story entirely; my reading of older SF has some unfortunately large gaps. At some point I became more interested in the modern stuff and just never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... I don't see why not: I mean, it is a theoretical future that may have superscience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... Actually, as of right now, the Real Doll types are available I know little of that, but I do know of photographers and garment designers who like Real Dolls as models. So the only question one really has to ask is "Do they come in Green?" Of course they do! (but I really ought to go re-do the base in 6th edition) (and I keep having to cut out base modules to make room for these options....) Orion Package Now in GREEN : +5 PRE (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only for people who think Star Trek's Orion slave girls were the sexiest aliens ever (-1), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (A big turn off (-1 to PRE based Skills) to people who associate green skin with Wizard of Oz rather than Star Trrek; -1/2) Real Cost: 2 (Strip out one module of "I Learn Quickly" Cramming) Real Cost: -5 (Strip out +1 Overall Level) Real Cost: -10 Lithe and Agile: +1 Acrobatics, Contortionist, Dancer Real Cost: 3 PS: Choreographer 11- Real Cost: 1 Synchronization: Teamwork 12- (3 Active Points); Required Multiple Users (2 or more fembots; -1/4), Extra Time (to get in rhythm) (Full Phase, Only to Activate, -1/4) Real Cost: 2 Superb Dancer: +1 with any Dancer, Synchronization, Choreographer Real Cost: 3 Tantalizingly Erotic: +1 with all Seduction Skills (may include Charm, KS: Carnal Knowledge, PS: Concubine, or any Skill as long as it is being used for specifically erotic arousal or pleasure) Real Cost: 4 Enthusiastic and Energetic: +1 Overall (12 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2) Real Cost: 5 Awaken your body to new depths of sensation: +1 PER with Touch Group, Usable Simultaneously (the life of the orgy) (up to 8 people at once; +1/4), Grantor can only grant the power to others, Recipient must remain close to Grantor, Grantor can take back power at any time (2 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x4 END; Only If affecting more than one other Uncommon; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) Real Cost: 1 It's said no Human male can resist them: Change Environment (-1 to Any Roll to resist Charm or Persuasion used seductively), Area Of Effect (2m Radius; +1/4) (4 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Not with people who associate green skin more with Wizard of Oz than with Star Trek (-1/2), Skin OR Eye contact required (-1/4) Real Cost: 2 Especially Star Trek Fans: KS: Star Trek 14- Real Cost: 3 How much of this trivia can we program in?: KS: Stuff likely to be of interest to the kind of person who'd want an Orion slave girl (science fiction, role playing games, video games, general science knowledge) 13- Real Cost: 2 Lucius Alexander Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... Companion bots will be as weak and flimsy as they can get away with being; certainly no stronger or more durable than a well-developed human male. I know that it's common, almost universal, to think that robots will by default be stronger and tougher than human beings, but this idea doesn't hold up when you think of them as manufactured devices. You see, strength costs money: more powerful actuators are more expensive than weaker actuators. Durability costs money--stronger, thicker structural elements cost more than weaker, thinner structural elements. "But wait!" you say, "Advanced technology will mean more power and strength in a cheaper, smaller package!" Of course that's true, but it just means that the minimum to do the job will be cheaper and smaller--no matter how cheap a material is, MORE of it will always cost more than LESS of it. An actuator that puts out X torque will always be cheaper than one that puts out 2X torque. If you're not convinced, think about cars. Your daily driver COULD be made with all the advanced technology that goes into cutting-edge race cars, and it would be a better car for it. So why doesn't it have all that? Because it doesn't NEED it to do its job, and you wouldn't pay for it if it were available. So in conclusion, yeah, if you go for the "Amazon" model of companion bot, she might be stronger than the average man, but certainly not superhuman. No, miniaturization and fine control costs money. Yeah a cheap bot will be as fragile as they can get away with. They will use the cheapest parts which means that if strong acutators are cheapest. Also I beleive that most bots will be used for heavy lifting and working circumbstances (ie manual labor). The cheapest parts will be those which will probably be stronger than human. Also it's quite likely that the bones will be some sort of metal (or at least use metal to strengthen them) and you just have a world of pain. Even if they do use cheap flimsy parts bots esp cheap ones will probably be heavier than a human their size. ie you wouldn't want to be hit by one going crazy or even by accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... If it was a long trip spent in desolate sectors, some of my characters consider it ... but I'm one of the crazy ones that would enjoy a sentient AI rather than a programmed drone as there's more RP potential Besides, would you trust a ProstaBot2000™ in a strange sector? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... And I'll add to that the fact that, while it was obviously written from a male point of view (I'm male, obviously) the principle should work the same either way; a companion actually designed to meet a woman's needs and desires would mean it's no longer necessary to view men as a means of meeting those needs. Lucius Alexander These palindromedaries hang around, so I must be meeting their needs somehow. How many have I got now anyway? For the record, I have considered creating a male version, and gone as far as writing up one power: Stretching 1" (5 Base & Active) Very Limited Body Parts (-1) No Noncombat Stretch (-1/4) Always Direct (-1/4) Restrainable (Turn it off by turning him off) (-1/4) No Velocity Damage (-1/4) Side Effects: Int Drain (-1/2) Limited Power: much, much Less than one hex Stretch (-1/4) Limited Power: Refractory Period (Must wait between activations) (-3/4) Real Cost: 1 But I probably never will write up the male version, because I think that's something a woman should do. Lucius Alexander Counting heads and dividing by two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... ...why does this bot have a refractory period? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... ...why does this bot have a refractory period?she goes transparent a couple of days a month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... ...why does this bot have a refractory period? I think this is there to simulate the recovery time of man after coitus. But, why should they copy the original that closely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... But' date=' why should they copy the original that closely?[/quote'] ....that is what I asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinanju Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... So women don't replace us with sexdroids, obviously. It can be programmed to be obliging, helpful, unfailingly polite, non-argumentative, AND it can "go all night" whenever she likes? Something's gotta be done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Someone was looking for this write up and couldn't find it because it was behind spoilers. Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... Well sir, we do have this one unit we haven't been able to place. Keeps complaining, and they're not supposed to do that. Placed with several men so far and always claims to not like them. Maybe we can let you try this one out on a trial basis, you can pay for it at the end of the voyage if you wish and give it back otherwise... if it doesn't work out this time we may just have to scrap this one. [no longer SPOILER] Fortunately, we don't have to tell the client how this unit is programmed.... -4 (Strip out "I move gracefully etc.") 4 Read Audience: Detect Reactions of other people to the fembot's performance 13- (Sight Group), Discriminatory, Analyze (13 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Acting Skill roll; Jammed (Must recalibrate); -1), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Sense Affected As More Than One Sense [very common Sense] (Based on sight, hearing, and sometimes touch.; -1/2) Note: By observing gross cues such as posture and expression, and subtle ones such as pupil dilation and breathing rate, the fembot can judge the reactions of observers. 2 Am I....real?: Mental Illusions 1d6, Attack Versus Alternate Defense (Telepathy; All Or Nothing; Mental Defense is no defense....but a Telepath will not be fooled; +0), Side Effects (Side Effect always occurs whenever the character does some specific act; Upon reaching a cumulative total of 10, and again at 20, the fembot will engage in at least one conflict or quarrel with Master. Such conflicts will continue to recur on a more or less random basis thereafter.; +0), Area Of Effect (8m Radius; +1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; Additional Group Any Group, Additional Group Hearing Group; +1), Cumulative (96 points; +1 1/2) (20 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), Limited Power Only to convine Master that the fembot's behavior reflects conscious, self-directed agency (-1 1/2), Extra Time (20 Minutes, Only to Activate, Must interact, or at least mutually observe each other, 20 minutes; -1 1/4), Limited Class Of Minds [single species/type of mind] (One only: Master; -1), Eye Contact Required (-1/2), Requires A Roll (Read Master Skill roll; -1/2), No Range (-1/2) Note: This represents a fembot's ability to, by closely observing and analyzing both gross and subliminal cues in the responses of the Master to the fembot's behavior, to modify that behavior - down to such things as blushes, glances, and tiny changes in voice pitch - in order to build a slow growing conviction that the fembot has in fact achieved sentience and is expressing its own emotions, desires, and personality. 1 Can we do what I want to do for a change?: Persuasion 14- (5 Active Points); 2 Charges which Recover every 1 Week (-2), Side Effects (If Persuasion fails, fembot becomes non-functional for 10 - 60 minutes: crying, nagging and arguing, going into another room and locking the door, or otherwise being useless and annoying. This may be circumvented, however, with a Charm roll made by the fembot's Master.; -1/4) 6 Studying for the Turing Test: +4 with Acting, Persuasion, Conversation, Charm, Read Master, Read Audience, and Getting to know you (16 Active Points); Limited Power Only to simulate consciousness, free will, and emotion (-1 1/2) 4 Getting to know you: KS: Points reserved for a knowledge skill: All about Master 15- By the way, I did eventually create the male version, when it became clear no woman was going to. Should I post it here? Assuming I can find it.... Lucius Alexander The palindromedary has a Y chromosome and a y-not? chromosome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Darn, three years later and the companion bot is STILL looking like my best bet for finding a girlfriend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage.... So women don't replace us with sexdroids, obviously. It can be programmed to be obliging, helpful, unfailingly polite, non-argumentative, AND it can "go all night" whenever she likes? Something's gotta be done! But, I thought women liked yelling at men. *badger burrows for it* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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