But will you respect your robot in the morning?

Remember the old line “No sex, please. We’re British”? It’s been replaced. The new mantra, it seems is “No sex, please. We’re robots” if we are to believe Times Online on the growing problem of robot behavior as we move into an era of increasingly anthropomorphic designs:“Security, safety and sex are the big concerns,” said Henrik Christensen, a member of the Euron ethics group. How far should robots be allowed to influence people’s lives? How can accidents be avoided? Can deliberate harm be prevented? And what happens if robots turn out to be sexy?

I remember somewhere in my pre-pubescent youth reading something about robot sex in an (I think) Isaac Asimov novel. Well, sounds as if it’s not science fiction anymore. A whole new Industry for the Valley may be forthcoming. [How about robots that only sleep with you after marriage?-ed. There’s a thought.]