'More Than Things': Lifelike Sexbots Pose Moral, Legal Dilemmas - Specialist

As the use of sex robots becomes increasingly common, specialists warn about the moral and ethical issues associated with this phenomenon, which need to be addressed. Kent Law School Professor Robin Mackenzie, who specializes in areas such as robotics and the ethical and legal relations between humans and robots, believes that the advent of increasingly lifelike "sexbots" calls for a change in the way people think about sex, morals and the legal status of these artificial concubines, The Express wrote. However, sentient, self-aware sex robots created to engage in emotional and sexual intimacy with humans fly in the face of this time-tested notion, she pointed out. She added that even though the sex robots look like humans and act as intimate sexual partners, they can't simply be categorized as either things or animals. That being said, recent technological advancements meant that sex robots can now have realistic, lifelike characteristics and functionality.