ROBOTIC LOVE DOLL
Invention causes split in opinion on live TV
A DAD who helped develop one of the world’s first artificial intelligence sex robots has hit back at people who brand him a pervert.
Arran Squire, of Holyhead, has spent four years working with creator Dr Sergi Santos on the doll, Samantha, that interacts with users.
The £4,000 doll appeared with Mr Squire on ITV’s This Morning show last week. The 36-year-old says it reacts to touch and voices and will only be romantic if “treated well”.
Mr Squire, whose firm is called Synthea Amatus, said people have dubbed them “strange” and “perverts” for the project.
But the father-of-two said: “I have been working on this for four years with the creator Serge. My wife has always beeneen supportive.
“We get some strange reactions when we tell people what we are doing, but we are not perverts and these dolls are not for perverts.
“They can be used for normal couples, people can have a threesome with the dolls and we have tried it out ourselves. “There is nothing weird about the doll and it is to help people, not replace women.” This Morning presenter Philip Schofield said the dolldol “felt like a corpse” andan would be like “makingin love to a GPS”. But Mr Squire said: “The difference with these dolls and other s sex dolls out there is thatth with artificial intelligenceli people can properly interact with her.
“You can’t just grab her and have sex, you have to treat her well and talk nicely to her or she won’t interact with you.”
Samantha has hundreds of phrases to say in response to people and also has a “family” mode, where she can reel off jokes and everyday comments instead of pillow talk.
Mr Squire’s wife Hannah Nguyen, 38, said: “I am not offended to have her around. I am not worried she will replace me. She is just someone there like a family member.
“Yes, we’ve had fun with her. There is no worry about someone else or an affair, we don’t have to worry about disease.”
The doll launched last month and 30 have already been sold, with users able to customise their own doll. They are now working on a male version.