Here are some things I read that are too unusual to not sum up.
According to The Daily Beast, a “self-proclaimed” cult leader named Unicole Unicron is embarking on a new business venture — a consent-focused robot brothel called Eve’s Robot Dreams. Unicron hopes to open Eve’s Robot Dreams in West Hollywood, CA sometime in the near future.
First off, let’s talk about Unicron.
According to unicoleunicron.com, ze is a “gender non-conforming Pop Star Cult Leader and robot brothel CEO.” Unicron lists zir preferred pronouns as ze/zir. Ze also states to be an alien from Arcturus born as a human to build the infrastructure of the future on Earth.
Unicron leads UNICULT. According to the organization’s website, UNICULT is a “collaborative effort for anyone who wants to work towards the goal of creating a bright and hopeful future… This is done primarily by raising individuals up into a state of near-constant joy while simultaneously educating them about the interconnection between their joy and global joy.” UNICULT also states that no one can thrive while others suffer, which is insightful, though ideological.
Motherboard published a snarkily-titled but decidedly not sarcastic profile of Unicron in 2016, “I Was Brainwashed by a Feminist Digital Cult Leader.” Unicron’s Twitter is not too developed — @unicoleunicron– but zir Insta is more so.
Here is a picture of Unicron out postering the town with information about the brothel:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpna_CcFA2I/
Unicron’s vision for the world is very interesting, and the vision for Eve’s Robot Dreams elevates it – especially in terms of consent.
According to The Daily Beast, Unicron concluded a recent v-log discussion of the brothel with an important takeaway memo to followers: “Don’t forget to ask your sex robot for consent.”
Here is the business plan: Unicron hopes to start a sex doll brothel, renting out the dolls (or, robots) by the hour — as long as the object agrees to it. But how? Really, the question isn’t so much about how does one ask for consent – just ask – though remembering to do so is something we as a culture are just seeming to be figuring out. My question is more about how does one receive consent from a robot? Or, how does the robot deliver meaningful consent?
The Daily Beast provided few details, stating that the brothel will require patrons to obtain consent from the robots/dolls before intercourse but that was about it. The brothel itself will be “staffed” (Can robots be “staff”? Maybe the correct word is stocked?) exclusively by Real Doll’s Harmony offering — a model that requires prospective partners to accumulate “points” before accessing sex acts. Is one party racking up points tantamount to another party’s consent?
Here’s the thing. My Roomba doesn’t “consent” to vacuuming my rugs when I program it for a set time, and a Harmony Real Doll doesn’t “consent” to sex via point accumulation. A threshold or limit is set, that limit is met and whatever associate action then happens.
However.
Even though sex robot consent is not really a thing (not a thing now… as Unicron points out and as “Westworld” makes clear, it may be someday), the notion that Eve’s Robot Dreams may help us learn how to remember to engage consent and wait for it is important.
