--- title: "This Researcher Is Worried About Child Sex Robots" description: "In a new essay, a law professor grappled with the specter of sex robots designed to look like children — and more about the complicated future of sexbots." date: "2019-02-18" modified: "2019-02-18" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/researchers-are-worried-about-child-sex-robots" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "future society" - "legal" - "mark 1" - "sex robots" --- # This Researcher Is Worried About Child Sex Robots ![In a new essay, a law professor grappled with the specter of sex robots designed to look like children — and more about the complicated future of sexbots.]() *\Image: Pexels\* ## Detrimental Effects In a [new essay]() for *The Conversation*, University of Minnesota law professor Francis Shen grapples with the difficult legal and social issues raised by sexbots — including the specter of ones designed to look like children. "Childlike sex robots are robots, not humans," Shen wrote. "Like virtual child pornography, the development of a childlike sex robot does not require interaction with any children. Yet it might also be argued that childlike sex robots would have serious detrimental effects that compel state action." ## Sexbot Revolution There's already been federal legislation to outlaw childlike sex robots, Shen pointed out. A House bill called the Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronics Pedophilic Robots Act — with the clever acronym CREEPER — [passed unanimously]() in 2018. According to Shen's analysis, that's just one example of the hazy regulatory environment hovering over the sexbot industry, which seems [poised to go mainstream]() before society has hammered the legal and social norms that will surround it. ## Uncanny Valley Muddying the waters further, according to Shen, is that some bots are blurring the line between sexbots and regular robots. The developer of the ["Mark 1" bot](), for instance, has said that he envisions it providing all types of companionship — sexual and otherwise. "Humans, of course, can navigate both sexual and nonsexual contexts adeptly," Shen wrote. "What if a robot can do the same? How do we conceptualize and govern a robot that can switch from 'play with kids' mode during the day to 'play with adults' mode at night?" **READ MORE:** [Sex robots are here, but laws aren’t keeping up with the ethical and privacy issues they raise]() \[*The Conversation*\] ***More on sex robots:*** [We Have No Idea What Having Sex With Robots Might Do to Us]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()