Sex robots are a very peculiar and worrisome trend in the world of tech. Some people see them as a major threat, whereas others think they will only serve to promote rape culture. Dr. Nick Paterson, a renowned cybersecurity expert, is more concerned about killer sex robots, meaning sex robots that are hijacked and potentially turned by hackers into killing machines.

Killer Sex Robots Are a Threat

It is not impossible to think that hackers would be capable of remotely controlling a sex robot. After all, they do so with our computers, smartphones, tablets, security cameras, TVs, and virtually every other device one can think of. This train of thought assumes these pleasure workers are connected to the internet somehow, which is a valid assumption. Similar to all other electronic devices, these robots will need to receive firmware updates over the air.

If sex robots were to have an internet connection, this would constitute a major point of weakness. Any connection to the outside world will invite hackers and other nefarious individuals to do their very worst. Taking over devices remotely is nothing, although it is not something one would associate with sex robots. That is exactly what makes these devices potentially lethal, according to Dr. Nick Patterson.

Dr. Patterson claims

 that hackers could turn sex robots into killing machines with ease. All it would take is hacking into a robot to gain full privileges. If they could simply control an arm or a leg, a lot of damage could be done. Unlike humans, a robot can take a few punches or even get stabbed without showing signs of weakness. It would also be possible for a hacked robot to take on weaponry of all kinds to do even more damage.

It is not the first time we have heard warnings about robots and the damage they can cause. Elon Musk recently co-signed a petition to the UN in order to prevent the military from using AI to create autonomous killing machines. Although it remains to be seen if the UN will even acknowledge this threat, it goes to show that we should be excited and afraid of robotics in equal measure at this time.

Sex robots are a topic of substantial debate right now. Some people claim these machines will incite a rape culture in which men show even less respect for women than they do already. It is unclear if things will ever get that far, though. Sex robots are of great interest to any company exploring AI capabilities. The fact these robots become more human-like with every generation only adds fuel to the fire as far as these debates are concerned.

Considering how some sex robots have their own personalities, it is not unlikely we would see some very unusual scenarios over the coming years. Although it may not lead to killer robots anytime soon, it is still a problem to keep in the back of one’s mind. Virtual “girlfriends” are becoming the new normal at an alarming rate. However, there are still a lot of unknown factors regarding the security precautions for such machines as well.