AI & Robotics News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

[funkervogt]

Child pornography is illegal because it involves the exploitation and abuse of human children. But if someone make entirely CGI porn, and none of the "children" depicted in the videos is an actual human (or looks exactly like a real child), then why should it be illegal? There is no human victim, so how can it be said that there is a crime?

[weatheriscool]

Caltech Team Builds Transforming Robot That Can Roll, Walk, and Fly
The Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot chooses the type of locomotion that works best for any given scenario.
By Ryan Whitwam June 30, 2023
https://www.extremetech.com/science/cal ... lk-and-fly

Most robots have one means of locomotion—they might roll, fly, walk, or even swim. Rarely do they do more than one, though. Engineers at Caltech's Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) have built a robot that does (almost) everything. The M4 (for Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot) is a real-life transformer that can reconfigure itself to get around no matter the terrain.

The CAST team notes that M4 is not the first machine to have more than one means of locomotion. However, it is unique in using the same components for all movement rather than having multiple redundant systems. This helps keep M4 compact and inexpensive while also allowing it to change "posture" in the same way an animal might.

"Our aim was to push the boundaries of robot locomotion by designing a system that showcases extraordinary mobility capabilities with a wide range of distinct locomotion modes," says co-lead researcher Alireza Ramezani. In its simplest form, the morphobot is a four-wheeled rover. The wheels can do more than roll, though. It only takes a few seconds for M4 to rotate the wheels horizontally and fire up the propellers inside the rims to take to the sky.

[Cyber_Rebel]

Child pornography is illegal because it involves the exploitation and abuse of human children. But if someone make entirely CGI porn, and none of the "children" depicted in the videos is an actual human (or looks exactly like a real child), then why should it be illegal? There is no human victim, so how can it be said that there is a crime?

I imagine for the same reason lolicon is taboo. It's a very grey area. I'm not even sure how I'd truly handle it either. On one hand, like you say such characters (like anime) aren't even real to begin with, so in practice focusing on something like that would be akin to cracking down on doujinshi or online hentai.

Is it creating an environment for pedophiles as some argue, or would it give some people with those tendencies an outlet, so they don't go out and do actual crimes? I'm not saying one thing or the other, but some scientific studies in pornography have indicated the latter rather than the former.

[funkervogt]

Child pornography is illegal because it involves the exploitation and abuse of human children. But if someone make entirely CGI porn, and none of the "children" depicted in the videos is an actual human (or looks exactly like a real child), then why should it be illegal? There is no human victim, so how can it be said that there is a crime?

I imagine for the same reason lolicon is taboo. It's a very grey area. I'm not even sure how I'd truly handle it either. On one hand, like you say such characters (like anime) aren't even real to begin with, so in practice focusing on something like that would be akin to cracking down on doujinshi or online hentai.

Is it creating an environment for pedophiles as some argue, or would it give some people with those tendencies an outlet, so they don't go out and do actual crimes? I'm not saying one thing or the other, but some scientific studies in pornography have indicated the latter rather than the former.

Once you remove the exploitation of actual human children from the discussion, the only remaining argument for keeping the CGI pornography banned is "I just think it's gross." Agreeing to such a low and fickle standard for banning a type of pornography is problematic since it makes us question why other stuff is not banned as well.

For example, most straight people think men having sex is gross. Does that mean the majority should rule, and male gay porn should be banned?

[lechwall]

Child pornography is illegal because it involves the exploitation and abuse of human children. But if someone make entirely CGI porn, and none of the "children" depicted in the videos is an actual human (or looks exactly like a real child), then why should it be illegal? There is no human victim, so how can it be said that there is a crime?

I imagine for the same reason lolicon is taboo. It's a very grey area. I'm not even sure how I'd truly handle it either. On one hand, like you say such characters (like anime) aren't even real to begin with, so in practice focusing on something like that would be akin to cracking down on doujinshi or online hentai.

Is it creating an environment for pedophiles as some argue, or would it give some people with those tendencies an outlet, so they don't go out and do actual crimes? I'm not saying one thing or the other, but some scientific studies in pornography have indicated the latter rather than the former.

Once you remove the exploitation of actual human children from the discussion, the only remaining argument for keeping the CGI pornography banned is "I just think it's gross." Agreeing to such a low and fickle standard for banning a type of pornography is problematic since it makes us question why other stuff is not banned as well.

For example, most straight people think men having sex is gross. Does that mean the majority should rule, and male gay porn should be banned?

Could it be the case that after consuming said media it would spur these disordered individuals to want to go further and see/get the real thing?

[firestar464]

Child pornography is illegal because it involves the exploitation and abuse of human children. But if someone make entirely CGI porn, and none of the "children" depicted in the videos is an actual human (or looks exactly like a real child), then why should it be illegal? There is no human victim, so how can it be said that there is a crime?

I imagine for the same reason lolicon is taboo. It's a very grey area. I'm not even sure how I'd truly handle it either. On one hand, like you say such characters (like anime) aren't even real to begin with, so in practice focusing on something like that would be akin to cracking down on doujinshi or online hentai.

Is it creating an environment for pedophiles as some argue, or would it give some people with those tendencies an outlet, so they don't go out and do actual crimes? I'm not saying one thing or the other, but some scientific studies in pornography have indicated the latter rather than the former.

Do you have sources for the studies?

[funkervogt]

Could it be the case that after consuming said media it would spur these disordered individuals to want to go further and see/get the real thing?

It's equally likely that it could do the opposite. The subject hasn't been scientifically studied, so we don't know.

[firestar464]

That directly contradicts Cyber Rebel's claims of studies.

[Cyber_Rebel]

Do you have sources for the studies?

Here are some links to a few such claims:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... e-of-smut/

https://www.utsa.edu/today/2020/08/stor ... study.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... al-assault

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm ... _id=913013

Granted, some of these studies are older, (compared to present) but they may give an insight as to how normalized pornography has affected society in the immediate term. It's also worth noting it's usually sexually repressed cultures which have higher rates of violence against women.

Could it be the case that after consuming said media it would spur these disordered individuals to want to go further and see/get the real thing?

Is an individual who is naturally predisposed to violence, but obtains that outlet via violent video games, TV shows, or movies about to go further to commit the actual thing? In regard to AI, if someone did a violent roleplay session or generated some fantasy for themselves, going to actually go out and seek something which would normally be unobtainable?

I don't believe the newest Call of Duty is leading to increased mass shootings in the U.S., or that Grand Theft Auto is making teens into street totting criminals looking to jury rig vehicles, so why would AI generated fantasy worlds truly be any different? Especially if it's an anime or some other fantasy which like mentioned, can't be replicated no matter how good the cosplay is.

Just to clarify, really don't support creating actual realistic depictions of children or anything of that nature for obvious reasons, but this is more about fantasy depictions and works themselves.