Sleeping with the robot ... waking up to automation

All these developments raise some key questions. How can we human beings compete with robotic journalists that produce business news reports at an unparalleled speed using big data and cloud computing? How can real human lovers compete with Roxxxy or Rocky?

They can work or accompany you 24x7. They never fall sick, make mistakes, go on strike or get bored with you. They will keep working or pleasing you days and nights on end.

According to a forecast of the International Federation of Robots, by 2020, human beings will employ over 15 million robots and the industry's sales will hit $1.5 trillion. The Boston Consulting Group predicts a quarter of global workplace positions will be taken over by robots or artificial intelligence by 2025.

Some experts have warned unemployment rate will increase and wages will decrease due to the advent of robots.

As early as 1984, Hollywood film Terminator highlighted potential dangers of automation and robotic technologies. Even the recent hit Ex Machina, about a young programmer taking part in a Turing experiment conducted by intelligent robots and who is finally locked and terminated by the latter, made us ponder if artificial intelligence will improve or imperil our lives. Similarly, in 2011, My Sex Robot, a film about three guys' addiction to love with robots, stirred up heated debates.

I am not sure if robots could really replace human beings. Robotic journalists, for example, are not yet able to outsmart human journalists in terms of investigative reports, in-depth analyses and one-to-one interviews.

A few of my male friends, both foreigners and Chinese, said they may not be averse to trying out sex robots, just for curiosity. But the majority of them said they would not like something to please them mechanically, without any natural responses. All of my female friends said "No" to the idea of pairing up with a sex robot.

Some scholars have issued calls to ban sex robots, which they said defy ethics and ruin natural relations between men and women. But not everyone agrees. If some people in modern, busy, lonely societies prefer robots, why not, others say.