15 Sexbot-Induced Social Change: An Economic Perspective

Technological change invariably brings social change. We know this to be true, but rarely do we—or can we—make accurate predictions about how social behavior will evolve when new technologies are introduced. For example, no one should have been surprised that improvements in birth control technologies spawned more promiscuous societies. But could anyone really have predicted that making it easier for women to control their fertility would result in dramatic increases in births to unmarried women?1 Likewise, anyone could have predicted that the introduction of the Internet would increase access to pornography. But who would have predicted that as people had more, and cheaper, access to pornography, there would be fewer and fewer rapes?2 Early adopters probably knew that improvement in home production technologies would liberate women from household drudgery. But could they have known that the microwave oven would eventually contribute to societies' more accepting attitudes toward same-sex marriage?3