Robots and sexuality will come under the microscope this week at the 12th IFIP TC9 Human Choice and Computers (HCC12) Conference at MediaCityUK.
With the theme, “Technology and Intimacy: Choice or Coercion?”, the three-day conference is the first to explore how technology is influencing the ways in which humans create and express intimacy.
The conference starts on Wednesday and is based at MediaCityUK
It will feature a keynote by Professor Charles Ess from the University of Oslo on: “What’s love got to do with it? Robots, sexuality, and the art of being human”, and starts on Wednesday.
IFIP TC9 is the group focused on ICT and Society within IFIP, the global professional association for the ICT sector. HCC12 Program Committee Chair, Dr David Kreps of Salford University, said the event will consider the latest research and theories about how humans engage with robots, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other forms of technology to explore issues of intimacy and sexuality.
Dr Kreps believes there is a world of difference between the picture painted by science-fiction and the reality we face today.
“You have to ask the question – how genuinely human can any robot ever be?” he said. “Love takes two people – it’s about human beings. A very large part of the physical and chemical connection between humans relies on eye contact and you’re never going to experience that with a machine, no matter how much AI there is.”
For more information about HCC12 or to register to attend, visit http://hcc12.net/.
