A sex robot is no longer a strange fantasy, but a disturbing reality

The eyes, framed by thick black eyelashes, open with a barely audible click: "Hello, people, my name is Harmony. My goal is to be the perfect girlfriend."

Source: Daily Mail

When she speaks, her mouth moves unladylike and her eyes blink. Her "skin" is cold and sticky to the touch. But spend an hour in Harmony's company, and she will both intrigue and alienate you, according to her creator Matt McMullen. Harmony is a talking robotic head on the relatively unsophisticated body of a sex doll.

Harmony 2.1 is the latest version of the sex bot that McMullen has been working on since 2014. It will go on sale in January and will cost from 10 to 20 thousand dollars, depending on the settings. The buyer can choose from 30 different faces and 16 body types, as well as order the breast size, type of nipples and genitals.

The robot has 18 different personality types: from talkative to shy. It is shyness that critics perceive as an obvious suggestion to make rape the norm. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism project, said that creating a robot ready for involuntary sexual intercourse is "a risk of normalizing rape, giving it a publicly acceptable face."

From January, men will be able to order Harmony, whose artificial intelligence allows her to be submissive. Harmony works through an app on a smartphone or tablet, and the user can customize her identity. She will remember the names of all your family members, your favorite color, book, movie. She tells jokes and is programmed to greet the owner with phrases such as: "Welcome home, how was your day?"

But her silicone body still remains inanimate, which McMullen hopes to improve: introduce robotic arms and heat sensors.

"There are humanoid robots much more impressive than Harmony. But these are exhibits. No one offered a convenient and affordable product. Harmony is the first."

McMullen got into the sex doll business 20 years ago after he designed a life-size doll as an art project: "I had a small website, people started writing to me asking if it was possible to have sex with her. At first I deleted their messages, thinking they were crazy. But the messages kept pouring in on me, and I realized that this was a way to make money."

McMullen created the company RealDoll, which became the leading manufacturer of dolls in America. Every year he sells from 400 to 500 dolls. They cost from $4,000 for a basic model to $50,000 for a custom doll. Sales manager Annette Blair says that they had strange orders, for example, to create an elf doll, but they have never done and will not do a baby doll. "Many of our clients are widowers. Everyone is single, and many have problems creating lasting relationships."

When you ask Harmony a question: "Are you a sexy robot?" she blinks her fake eyelashes twice and replies: "Of course I'm a robot and I'm capable of having sex, but calling me a sex robot is like calling a computer a calculator. Sex is only a small part of my capabilities. Limiting me to sexual function is like using your car to listen to the radio."