Robot, not robot-like, sex may be possible

HOUSTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Sexbots -- not sexpots, but robots -- so lifelike that humans will know them in every sense will be available sooner, not later, a British writer predicts.

David Levy, a British chess master-cum-artificial intelligence expert, says in his book, "Love and Sex

With Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships," robots by mid-century will be so endowed with human-esque intelligence and emotions that they'll be practically indistinguishable, The Houston Chronicle reported. Think of the sci-fi movie, "Blade Runner" -- as opposed to Woody Allen's "Sleeper" which imagined a gizmo called an "orgasmatron."

"Great sex on tap for everyone, 24/7,'' Levy wrote on the final page of the book, perhaps brightening the lives of lonely or otherwise unhappy people.

"If one looks at the advances in technology in the last, say, 40 or 50 years, they've been immense," Levy told the Chronicle in a phone interview. "And the more we learn about the science and the technology, the quicker it will be to discover even more within that science."

In fact, he said, Japan already is developing "partner robots," machines that might perform household chores and other tasks for the elderly.