By Emmanuel Ogodo
Recently, the internet has been awash with reports and accompanying images, which claim that Elon Musk, together with his company, is in the last stages of creating robot wives.
It was also reported that the American business magnate and Tesla CEO is set to launch the new technological innovation in September 2023, and will most likely reach Africa by November 2023.
Recall that Optimus, a humanoid robot designed by Tesla had its prototype unveiled at the company’s AI Day in September 2022. And the tech company had this to say about the bot:
“A general purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks.”
Musk was also quoted as saying, “Optimus has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time.”
A moralist, Goodluck Uguru, spoke against the moral backdrop of the robot wife innovation in our contemporary society. He noted that such would contribute to a decay in societal value system.
He said, “Such innovation has a tendency of leading to a high level of moral decadence, especially among young people.”
“People may argue that it will reduce the issue of promiscuity among men, but it will definitely increase the rate of social vices such as rape and sexual abuse.”
“The reason is because whoever has express access to physical intimacy with a robot will definitely develop a high urge for such intimacy. So, whenever he can’t get it, maybe due to a malfunction, because the robot will have its limitations, will then begin to look for any possible means of satisfying the urge. In that case, anybody, including animals can be a victim.
“Because it will be built to suit users’ specifications, it may reduce the disappointment and dissatisfaction that arise from change in physical features, but I tell you, it will erode the rich cultural heritage which we hold in high esteem here in Africa.”
For Onyekachi Eneh, a relationship advisor, the innovation will alter the dynamics of natural and normal human relationships. He said it will bring about disregard and disrespect to women.
He said, “The possibility of having a robotic wife or girlfriend will destroy many relationships because men will prefer to have what they can easily control than tolerating and managing the emotions of women. And so, it will reduce that natural expression of love and building of trust.”
“Although it will help in population control, it will alter the natural order of procreation. And again, it will be bad market for ‘call girls’. Another positive side of it is that it will tame insecurity and trust issues in relationships as well as reduce the risk of contracting STIs and STDs.
It is yet uncertain as to whether or not the report is true. However, advancement in technology can make anything and everything possible. And with the kind of projects Musk and his team have embarked on in the past, this might as well be another huge market for them.
