Virtual assistants spend much of their time fending off sexual harassment

Bots are already scheduling meetings, ordering meals, and analyzing bank accounts. That means they must now suffer the indignities unethical bosses inflict on their human assistants, especially sexual harassment. As bots do more of our bidding, their algorithms are spending more time parrying flirtations, dodging personal questions, and dealing with darker forms of sexual harassment. "Lots of use cases come from that motivation," says Ilya Eckstein, CEO of Robin Labs whose bot platform helps truckers, cabbies, and other drivers find the best route and handle logistics. "People want to flirt, they want to dream about a subservient girlfriend, or even a sexual slave. It may just be more for laughs, or something deeper underneath the surface."