还记得生活大爆炸里，Howard实验室里的那只机器手么？还记得黑镜里的人造男友么？那么问题来了，性爱机器人什么时候才会被发明呢？预测说，如果性爱机器人问世，那男性将成为主要客户，但现在性玩具的市场由女性主导。如果有了机器人，你还需要人类伴侣么？
寂寞的你需要性爱机器人？
译者：
尹子梦
校对：
王乐颖
词汇：
李林治
策划：朱雨晴
How sex robots could help with the nuts and bolts of relationships
性爱机器人如何在人的亲密关系中发挥作用？
本文选自 The Guardian | 取经号原创翻译
关注 取经号，
回复关键词“外刊”
获取《经济学人》等原版外刊获得方法
Sex robots do not currently exist. While some early proto-sexbots have been developed, there is as yet no technology that offers a plausibly realistic
approximation
of sex with a human being. However, sexbots are coming – in the near future, we will be able to have sex with robot partners that can speak and move, and that look very much like real people. Many people are concerned that their impact may be detrimental. Their concerns are not all unwarranted, but there are also arguments in favour of this technology that have not been
adequately
articulated
. Sexbots may even have the potential to enhance human relationships.
现在性爱机器人并不存在。虽然已经开发出了一些性爱机器人原型，但没有技术能提供与人类性交相似的真实感。然而，性爱机器人即将成为现实——在不远的未来，我们将能够与性爱机器人发生性行为，它们不仅能说能动，长得也跟真人十分
相似
。许多人担心性爱机器人可能产生有害影响，这种担忧不无道理，但也有人支持性爱机器人技术，却没有
充分
表达
出来。性爱机器人甚至可能有增进人类亲密关系的潜力。
approximation
/ap·prox·i·ma·tion/ n.a nearly exact calculation, amount, number, time 近似值
articulate
/ ɑːˈtɪkjulət/ v. able to express one's ideas clearly in words 能用词语把意思表达清楚的
We currently ask a lot of our relationships. We want emotionally compatible companions. We want someone to share household duties and finances. We want someone who will be a good co-parent to our children. And on top of all of this, we want someone who will excite us sexually and meet our sexual needs – forever. The model is not working. As the author Dan Savage says: “Relationship graveyards around the world are crowded with tombstones that read: ‘Everything was great … other than the sex.’”
我们目前对于亲密关系有很多需求。我们想要伴侣和我们情意相投，共同承担家务和家庭开支，一起好好抚育孩子。此外，我们希望另一半能让我们性奋，并满足我们的性需求——直到永远。可这种模式成效不佳。正如作家丹·萨维奇说的那样：“世界各地的爱情墓地里充斥着墓碑，上面写着：‘一切都很好……除了性。’”
Could sexbots help? There are reasons to think they might. They have the potential to address one of the main sources of dissatisfaction in relationships: the simple need for variety. In a Ted talk, psychotherapist Esther Perel has argued that a major challenge to “mating in captivity”, as she calls long-term relationships, is that of finding a way to meet our need both for security and for surprise. Faced with this
intractable
dilemma, many people find themselves drawn to
infidelity
. To avoid this, some couples experiment with non-
monogamy
– but even its proponents admit this solution is “complicated” and “not for everyone”.
性爱机器人能帮上忙吗？有理由相信它们可以。它们可能能够解决对亲密关系不满的主要原因之一：对多样性的这一基本需求。心理医生艾丝特·佩雷尔称长期的亲密关系为“围城内的欢爱”。她在Ted演讲中表示，长期亲密关系的主要难点在于，要找到一种方法让人同时感到安全感和惊喜。由于这种困境
难以突破
，许多人倾向于
出轨
。为避免这个问题，一些伴侣尝试不遵循
一夫一妻制
——但他们仍然承认这一解决方法很“复杂”，而且“不适合每个人”。
intractable
/ɪnˈtræktəbl/ adj. not easily controlled or dealt with; hard to manage 难处理的
Sexbots may offer a solution that is simpler and less painful than either of these. They can provide people with
novelty
and variety without threatening the relationship itself. They can also address the problem of
discrepancies
in the desire for sex, which relationship therapists say is the most common sexual problem among couples seeking therapy. When one person persistently wants more sex than their partner, a robot could bridge the gap.
性爱机器人也许能提供一个解决方法，它比上述二种方案都简单，也不那么痛苦。它们能让使用者感到
新奇
和变化，又不会威胁到亲密关系本身。它们还能解决性欲需求
不同
的问题，情感治疗师称这是前来寻求治疗的伴侣最常见的性问题。如果一方总是比伴侣要求得更多，那么性爱机器人可以帮得上忙。
novelty
/'nov·el·ty / n. quality of being novel; newness; strangeness 新奇
discrepancy
/dɪˈskrepənsɪ/ n. difference; failure to agree 差异
Commentators have speculated that the users of sexbots will be mostly men. But there is reason to wonder whether this will prove true. The problem of maintaining desire in a long-term relationship is one that disproportionately affects women. Studies indicate that women’s
libido
drops off over time not because women are less sexual than men, but because many simply find the prospect of sex with the same person for an entire lifetime to be less than arousing. This is
compounded
by the fact that men are not especially good at doing the things women want in bed.
评论家推测，性爱机器人的使用者大部分会是男性。但是我们有理由怀疑这一推论是否正确。如何在长期亲密关系中保持欲望这一问题，其实更多地困扰着女性。研究表明，女性的
性欲
会随时间推移减退，不是因为女性的性欲比男性少，而是因为许多女性只是一想到一生只与同一人发生性关系就不再那么容易激起性欲。如果男性在床上的表现没有女性希望得那样好，那么这个问题将变得
更糟
。
libido
/ lɪˈbiːdəu/ emotional energy or urge, esp sexual 性欲
compound
/ kəmˈpaund/ v.make (sth bad) worse by causing further harm （因进一步伤害）使（坏事）更坏
Women already
dominate
the market for sex toys. If we remove the stigma surrounding sex robots, it is not unreasonable to think the same might be true of the sexbot market. Not only can sex robots be programmed to do exactly what women want, they can be made with physical features that can enhance women’s pleasure in ways a human partner cannot.
女性早就
主导
了成人用品市场。如果我们摒弃对性爱机器人的偏见，有理由相信女性也会在性爱机器人市场占据主导。性爱机器人不仅能在程序编辑后满足女性的指定要求，还能人为增强女性的快感，而这种方式是男性伴侣做不到的。
While many women want variety, they also, understandably, want to feel safe around their partners – as do men. This is particularly true of survivors of sexual violence. Commentators worry that sexbots will have personalities that are passive and
obedient
. The concern is that this will accustom their male users to expect the same from their human partners. But for a survivor of sexual trauma, a partner who is entirely unthreatening and who always follows your lead may not seem like such a horrible prospect. Sexbots may prove to be an important
therapeutic
tool in helping trauma survivors heal, and to transition back into relationships with human partners.
可以理解，虽然女性喜欢多样性，但她们也想要在伴侣身边感到安全，男性也同样。对于遭受过性暴力的人来说尤为如此。评论家担心性爱机器人会有被动和
顺从
的特征，担心男性用户会习惯于此，并期待真人伴侣也同样做。但对于性创伤的幸存者来说，如果伴侣完全没有威胁性，而且总是服从你的领导，那么好像也没有那么可怕。性爱机器人可能最终会成为一种重要的
治疗
手段，帮助治愈性创伤的幸存者，并由此过渡到与人类伴侣建立亲密关系。
therapeutic
/ˏθerəˈpjuːtɪk/ of the art of healing or the curing of disease 治疗的
Variety is not the only source of tension in relationships. Many partners have different sexual preferences. One person may be into BDSM or other
kinks
that do not appeal to her partner, for instance. Sexbots might allow each member of the couple to pursue these kinks, when they want it, without destroying the relationship.
多样性不是亲密关系中唯一的矛盾来源。许多伴侣有不同的性偏好。比如一方可能喜欢SM或有其他
怪癖
，但她的另一半却对此毫无兴趣。如果双方需要的话，性爱机器人能满足每人的不同喜好，又不会损害彼此的关系。
In extreme cases, having a sexbot may allow people to give up on sex altogether and live in a companionate marriage. They may do so for their children’s sake, or just because they enjoy the other person’s company too much to trade in the relationship for one that might have more sex but that is less emotionally satisfying. Is this so bad? Many people do it already. Sexbots offer such people a chance to avoid a life from which sexual satisfaction has been removed entirely.
在极端情况下，拥有性爱机器人也有可能使人们完全放弃性生活，从而生活在一段伙伴般的婚姻中。他们这样做可能是因为孩子，或仅仅因为他们太享受另一半的陪伴了，不愿找一个性能力可能更强但却不能给他们情感以满足的人。这样不好吗？已经有不少人在这样做了。性爱机器人给这类人一个机会，避免生活中完全感受不到性福。
We should by no means imagine that everyone will see a sexbot as an
alternative
to a partner. A sexbot might actually be something a couple shares, the same way that many sex toys are used as part of sex with one’s partner.
