Humanoid sex robots seem to challenge the human–machine distinction because one way to engage with them is to entertain the illusion that they are human and appropriate for intimacy. This inclination is intentionally induced by robot designers, and several narratives envision and claim that robots of the future will be indistinguishable from humans. In this article Deborah Johnson is taking an anticipatory ethics approach and using critical discourse analysis, to argue that current discourse about sex robots does not adequately recognize the sociotechnical nature of humanoid sex robot development.
Johnson, Deborah G., and Mario Verdicchio. 2019. “Constructing the Meaning of Humanoid Sex Robots”. Int J of Soc Robotics. 12: 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-019-00586-z
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