Sapphire Gentlemen's Club in Nevada, Las Vegas, found itself on the frontline of the phwoar between humans and robots while hosting the 50th Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week.
At the cutting edge tech event, pole dancing robots went head-to-head with real life strippers in a bizarre spectacle that generated headlines and debate across the globe.
Sapphire drafted in the provocative cyborgs to whip up interest in the annual tech trade show, whose attendees flocked to see the latest gadgets hitting the market.
Riffing on warnings of an impending robot apocalypse, half a dozen human dancers unveiled the cyborg strippers to Star Wars music and joked about them stealing their jobs.
But their creator, British artist Giles Walker, exclusively told Daily Star Online the prospect of robot strippers replacing their human counterparts should be taken seriously.
GETTY/REALDOLLELECTRIC DREAM: Giles Walker's robot strippers made their debut at Sapphire Gentlemen's ClubAt the moment, the idea of hosting robot pole dancers at strips clubs on a more permanent basis would just be a “gimmick or marketing exercise”, Giles said.
But as robotics becomes more advanced, Giles suggested Las Vegas gentlemen’s clubs may seek to integrate new technologies – such as erotic androids – for customers to enjoy.
“Las Vegas is a very competitive environment and everyone is looking to pull in the customers in whatever way works so I’m sure it’ll happen,” Giles explained.
Walker, 50, said he was taken aback by the “amazing” response to his “kinetic sculptures”.
Using scrap materials, he built the bodies out of old shop mannequins, the heads from discarded CCTV cameras and powered them with windscreen wiper motors.
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GETTYSTUNNED: Giles said the response to his robot strippers was 'amazing'“Las Vegas is a very competitive environment and everyone is looking to pull in the customers in whatever way works so I’m sure it’ll happen”Giles Walker
His inspiration came from the rise of CCTV cameras – what he dubs “mechanical peeping Toms” – across Britain in the early 2000s.
“This led to the whole idea of ‘sexing-up’ a CCTV camera and combining this with the whole watching us/watching them concept,” Giles explained.
“I initially built these sculptures based around issues of voyeurism and surveillance.”
But at CES, his robot strippers have sparked a different debate entirely – opening a can of worms on issues surrounding sexism, gender disparities and robotic ethics.
“The debate they have inspired about the sexism issue within the tech business has been interesting and necessary, as has the ‘sex robot’ ethics conversations,” he said.
On the issue of sex robots, Giles said they will have limited appeal at strip clubs as only “a small minority of people will want to watch a machine unwrap itself”.
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Issuing a stark warning, Giles said the idea of sophisticated sex robots is “an ethical time bomb waiting to go off”.
“The most challenging issue will be that surrounding the idea of what becomes 'legal consent'.
“If you think child sex robots, rape robots etc etc, you can quickly picture a very dark world.
“Seems to me that there is not that much to be gained and a lot to be lost.
“I’m sure it will happen though, technology and innovation will race ahead and leave us picking up the pieces.”
GETTYSPECTACLE: The root strippers went head-to-head with real-life pole dancers at the clubSapphire Gentlemen’s Club invited Giles’ robot strippers believing they would “appeal to both men and women”.
Speaking to Daily Star Online, a spokesperson for Sapphire did not rule out featuring the robot strippers again at the club.
George Wilson, a marketing executive for Sapphire, said the club was thrilled with the level of “excitement” that the robot strippers generated.
But despite the overwhelming interest, Mr Wilson said no plans are in motion to showcase other types of robots at the venue.
“We haven’t considered any other form of robots for Sapphire,” he said.
“We’re very proud of our human staff at Sapphire and we’ll definitely continue to provide the best Gentlemen’s Club in Las Vegas.”
Article source : https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/675423/las-vegas-strip-clubs-sex-robots-dolls-replace-showgirls-strippers-ces-sapphire
