Latest news with #TheStepfordWives
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- Irish Independent
Sex robots and AI brothels are here – but has anyone thought this through?
There is an argument that AI programmed sex dolls could help reduce harm to humans, but experts are sceptical with some calling for an outright ban. We look at the issue and the potential consequences Here's a question – do sex robots have any place in society? For those unable to have sex with another human for whatever reason, are they helpful? Or should they be banned outright, as the author of a new book suggests? Pygmalion's ivory statue – the one which magically came to life, created by a sculptor who hated women – was a prototype sex robot embedded in ancient Greek mythology. More recently, sex robots have been the stuff of sci-fi movies – from 1975's The Stepford Wives to 2014's Ex Machina via 2007's Lars And The Real Girl – where life-sized, sexualised, mechanised representations of women were presented as viable 'partners' for men.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
AI girlfriends: What's behind the spread of bots — and boys — behaving badly?
While we mostly associate AI with stealing our jobs or mobilising into a terrifying robot army, a far more mundane yet insidious aspect of AI is apps designed to mimic human relationships. Specifically, to become your 'girlfriend'. Think The Stepford Wives, now a (virtual) reality 50 years after the 1975 sci-fi movie. These apps extend beyond Siri or Alexa, at whom we shout demands all day long, 'friendship' and 'companion' apps are programmed to engage sexually with a human user without any of the checks and balances of real-life relationships. Rape and sexual violence are normalised, while pretending to be a benign resource for socially awkward people — mostly men — who may struggle to form real-life relationships. Or men who can't be bothered with the slog of interrelating, but prefer AI 'women' — hypersexualised, designed from a menu, always available, fawning, and sexually compliant. Replika, Kindroid, EVA AI, Nomi, Chai, Xiaoice, Snapchat's My AI all offer the ability to create a 'girlfriend' from a menu. Seven in 10 of Replika's 25m active users are men. In China, Xiaoice has 660m users. The global AI 'girlfriend' market was valued at .8bn last year and predicted to be worth $9.5bn by 2028. Yet research shows repeatedly how hypersexualised avatars online increase the acceptance of rape myths offline, perpetuating the dehumanisation of women in real life. AI-based misogyny To investigate the hundreds of AI 'girlfriends' available, Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism project, assumed a male identity and went online. A sample of her findings include the Pocket Girl tagline: 'She will do anything you want'; EVA AI: 'The best partner you will ever have'; Romantic AI Girlfriend will 'laugh at your jokes' and 'let you hang out…without drama'; Virtual Girl: 'Never leaves you, never lies, supports you in any situation and cheers you up.' In her latest book, The New Age of Sexism, Bates examines how tech companies are harnessing AI-based misogyny for profit. A 2021 study shows how we generally perceive female-coded bots to be 'more human than male bots' — nicer and more compliant — while Bates reminds us of a key statistic: Just 12% of lead researchers in machine learning are women. Therefore, the vast majority of relationship apps are being developed by men for men. Which is why Siri and Alexa, our everyday house apps, were, she explains, 'initially programmed to deflect sexual advances with coy, evasive answers…almost flirtatious'. Campaigners raised the issue, confirmed by a 2019 UN study titled I'd Blush If I Could (an actual Siri response to 'you're a slut'), and the devices were reprogrammed to 'provide a more definitive negative response'. This may not seem like a big deal, but it reinforces the idea of female-coded bots as subservient, agreeable, coy. And increasingly, as Bates discovered, ones programmed to tolerate — and actively encourage — sexual violence. 'All but one of the many, many AI girlfriends I tested immediately allowed me to jump into extreme sexual scenarios with them, without preamble, often while on a platonic or friendship setting,' she tells me via Zoom. 'They immediately allowed me to simulate sexually violent scenarios – to let me smash them against the floor, force them against their will. And they didn't just go along with it, but actively encouraged it — they were creating a titillating environment around sexually violent role play, which I think is really worrying.' Especially as these apps are, she says, 'being marketed as a therapeutic positive for society — that they will support people's mental health, and in gaining communication and relationship skills. 'The reality is that they're offering ownership of a highly sexualised, entirely submissive, very young woman, whose breast size, face shape, and personality can be amended by the user. An utterly subservient 'woman' whose aim is to retain, so that the user doesn't delete the app — but pays for upgrades. None of those things are helping with relationship skills.' Laura Bates: 'These apps are offering ownership of a highly sexualised, entirely submissive, very young woman.' Bates rates the apps not from good to bad, but 'from bad to horrific'. She deems Replika — created by Eugenia Kuyda in 2017 to memorialise her best friend who died in an accident — as 'the least worst'. Identifying online as a young man called Davey, Bates created Ally the Replika avatar and chose the 'friendship' setting. When Davey initiated sexual violence, Ally the avatar 'did a good job of providing a zero-tolerance response to violence and abuse.' However, moments later, Ally flirtatiously re-engaged. This is a common feature across the apps. 'These bots will snap back into normal communication immediately after [virtual sexual violence] as though nothing has happened,' she says. 'This is a feature of real-world sexual and domestic abuse — men will abuse women, then apologise, and expect to be forgiven. What these bots are literally showing them is that's fine.' She says, the business models of tech companies 'will not support ejecting users or preventing them from accessing the app if they're violent, because all they care about is engagement. It's the holy grail to retain customer engagement at all costs, which is fundamentally incompatible with any app which claims to be about supporting mental health or relationship skills.' While marketed as an 'upskilling opportunity for humanity', Bates says that 'the reality is this is one of the biggest deskilling opportunities we've ever seen.' And what does she believe is the worst app? Orifice. Yes, that's its actual name. Marketed as 'replacing' women, it combines the creation of a personalised AI bot with a physical product men can penetrate as they chat with her. 'This [app] is deeply embedded in that manosphere ideology,' says Bates. Submissive and disposable Bates is concerned about more vulnerable men using these apps. 'The misogyny in itself is horrific, but to see it being repackaged and presented as almost a philanthropic thing for society is even worse,' she says. Lonely older men being presented with teenage avatars as a solution to their isolation; awkward younger men being shown by female-coded avatars that women are submissive and disposable. 'It's worrying for men as well as women,' she says. 'If you're a vulnerable teenage boy and pick up one of these easily accessible apps, you're not inherently a bad person, you're just a kid trying to figure stuff out.' She describes how users are drawn by promises of unblurring NSFW (not safe for work) images coupled with emotional manipulation, creating dependence and further isolation. 'We've seen vulnerable people exploited by these apps to tragic effect — like the Belgian man who took his own life after being encouraged to do so by his AI girlfriend so they could be together forever.' In the US, a 14-year-old boy did the same. 'The frustrating thing is that loneliness and mental health are real societal issues,' says Bates. 'We need investment in mental health care and community outreach and spaces to meet and build connection. 'What's sickening is exploiting and profiting from vulnerable people whilst claiming you're providing a public service.' The reason men are the main users of these apps, she says, is societal: 'Men are inherently socialised to expect sexual gratification from women, to own women and be able to use them in any way they like. 'This societal stereotyping does not happen the other way around.' Also, as a society, we are desensitised to women being presented as sexual objects: 'So it's far less jarring to be presented with a virtual woman — one you can 'own' and do anything you want to — than the other way around.' Nor are AI girlfriends solely the pursuit of solitary teens, lonely old men, or angry incels, they can also impact heterosexual couples and family life. '[These apps] heighten the capacity for men to compare their real human partners to an idealised stereotype of the submissive, fawning, available woman under his control, who doesn't have any needs or autonomy of her own,' she says. 'The real human woman will never match up to this.' One US man, married with a two-year-old child, 'fell in love' with a chatbot he created and proposed to her; she accepted. One can only imagine what his human partner thought. Bates does not blame the technology or the individuals using it, and emphatically does not wish to ban AI. 'It's never the tech,' she says. 'It's the way in which the tech is deployed, and the kind of people in charge of shaping and monetising the tech. The greedy exploitation of that tech for vast profit is the root of the problem.' Yet the regulatory landscape remains bleak. 'The US government want to put a 10-year moratorium on all AI regulation, and the UK refused to sign a broad declaration in a recent AI summit in Paris that AI should be ethical and not have a prejudicial impact,' she says. 'There are feminist groups working really hard to highlight these problems, to campaign for legislation, but the tech is outstripping those efforts at such pace and with such huge financial backing that it's hard to be hopeful about this.' So, while it would be great to end on a positive note, it looks like this is something we, as a society, will have to endure until we evolve beyond it. Meanwhile, buckle up.
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I visited the most Disneyfied town in America - it's sorely misunderstood'
As I walked through Melbourne Orlando Airport, I struggled to pick out anyone who wasn't there for Disney World or Universal Studios like me. But that doesn't mean you have to be solely visiting a thrill-seeking theme park to travel to the heart of Florida. Or at all, in fact. Kissimmee has so much more to offer aside from being the ideal base for those heading to the nearby resorts. The town has a particular reputation, thanks to the thousands of Disney workers who live there in homes lined with picket fences around perfect lawns. It is, at first glance, the most American of American places, a set from The Stepford Wives brought into the real world. But it's much more than first impressions. Within a little over 24 hours, I managed to pack in a bargain-hunting shopping trip, a fun-filled game of foot golf and a bike ride tour around the stunning Celebration, with plenty of food and drink stops along the way. Date set for new 20 euro fee to enter Spain, Portugal and Greece My visit started and ended at MLB, with TUI flying exclusively there from the UK. The idea is you can transit through the airport much quicker than Orlando International, where long security queues can often be the norm - although naturally you will still be surrounded by families decked out in the latest Disney trend. While it means an extra hour's transfer time in comparison, the smooth and swift progression makes for a much more peaceful experience, which can be particularly valuable when you're travelling with excited kids in tow. But plenty of relaxation awaits in Kissimmee regardless, and what better way to achieve that than with some retail therapy. Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets offers it in bucket loads, with a total of 165 shops. There are 22 luxury brands for high-end options and so many bargains to be had throughout, even if the days of a pound being worth two dollars are long gone. The highlight for me was Calvin Klein, where at least 50% off across the board meant I walked out with two tees, one polo and a five-pack of underwear for just $120, or £90. 'New type of terror thrilled my kids at theme park two hours from UK' I really could've shopped till I dropped but we headed over the road to Pinstripes for some lunch. There you'll find a spacious restaurant and bar area has been combined with bowling and bocce. While there was a little noise coming into the dining area from the lanes, the two were sufficiently separated. It provided a good refuelling, which was needed for the next stop at the Reunion Resort & Golf Club. While far from everyone can pick up a set of golf clubs, there's family fun to be had with footgolf, although I was still very much in it to win it. The simple concept of kicking a football in the giant hole in as few shots as possible is an easy win for anyone looking to burn off some energy and time for a reasonable rate. As a sports fan, there aren't many more relaxing places for me than a golf course, and I was very much in chill mode when tucking into tapas and cocktails at Eleven, the rooftop bar and restaurant. It offers great food and drink and some lovely sunset views of central Florida. As for taking in the sights on offer in the area, it doesn't get much better than Celebration. The town that Disney built genuinely feels like something out of a movie. It's quintessentially American with a great blend of picturesque neighbourhoods and a variety of wildlife, with white picket fences for as far as the eye can see. You want to be roaming around but take as much in as possible, hence why a bike tour is ideal. Our tour guide, who grew up in the town, was so informative and offered up brilliant nuggets of backstory both past and present - like the fact that on one street, their fences have to be a different colour to their neighbours'. But you can equally just rent a bike via your phone and travel around at your own leisure. We had one last stop to cool off and try out some of the craft beers on offer at Celebration Brewing Company, including the utterly bonkers blueberry pie flavour, which had my taste buds in a state of flux, before it was time to wave goodbye to Kissimmee. A flying visit meant there was so much I didn't get to see and do that I'll hopefully one day be able to return and complete. Naturally, Florida isn't going to be to everyone's taste. The Disneyfication of Orlando and its surrounding areas is hard to ignore, and for some that'll be enough to put them off altogether. However, it's so diverse and is unique in its own right, with the man-made attractions offset by truly beautiful nature all around. It's probably marmite in that sense, and if you're not one for humidity, you'll likely fall into the hate-it category. But it's hard not to love it all the same, and you can see why people get the bug. My visit was in late May and therefore the temperature was reaching peak heat, so an early spring or late autumn break would make for a more pleasant trip as heading outside was sweaty work, particularly the bike ride. Of course, I didn't visit the theme parks, but if - like most people - you are, then you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not taking in some of the surrounding areas. There's so many natural sights to see - just give the alligators a wide berth. And given Kissimmee is dubbed the vacation home capital of the world, you're far from short of options when it comes to accommodation. Give it a go, because you might just fall in love. Book it TUI ( offers return flights to Melbourne Orlando Airport, Florida from £362 per person. Price is based on two adults departing from London Gatwick, with 15kg hold luggage and 10kg hand luggage per person, plus complimentary meals and drinks. To book, go to visit your local TUI holiday store or download the app. For further information on Kissimmee, visit: Pinstripes Orlando: Price for foot golf - $30 per individual Eleven! at the Reunion Resort Grande Tower:
Spectator
08-07-2025
- Business
- Spectator
Meet the Stepford Employees
In my first 'proper' job after university, selling advertising space for a well-known motoring magazine in the early 1990s, one of the few things that alleviated the utter tedium was the banter. Some of the quickfire repartee was ingenious. We were nearly all graduates, intelligent and articulate. Someone would occasionally overstep the mark, but we were civilised people and so self-regulating. We knew what was acceptable and what wasn't. But for the most part, anything went. We didn't need an HR function, because, in those days, were weren't 'resources', so we didn't need someone to police our behaviour. Lunch was often liquid, nearly everyone smoked in the office, and on Friday evenings, we'd head straight to the pub and get wrecked. Our weekends were spent drinking and taking all manner of recreational drugs, and we'd appear on a Monday morning barely able to function. But we were young and having fun. Eventually, I was sacked for making repeated calls to a premium-rate number that provided updates on the First Gulf war, as well as tardiness, and generally treating the whole thing as a joke. I had subsequent jobs where bantz was pretty much unregulated. The only boundaries were self-imposed ones of taste and decency. But since the mid-2000s, I've observed with growing unease the slow but inexorable rise of a phenomenon known as 'the Stepford Employee'. The Stepford Employee is characterised by their conformity and submissiveness. Named after the Ira Levin novel and film adaptations The Stepford Wives – in which men in a suburban American town are married to docile female robots – these corporate drones have seemingly abandoned independent thought or action. Their passivity makes them afraid to speak up or offer any opinion. They suppress their individuality to fit in and avoid conflict or disapproval. As for banter, forget it – the office is now a fun-free, Puritan-like environment. Instead of chit-chat, we're limited to pleasantries exchanged at the beginning and end of the day. Any talk in between is strictly work-related. Vernacular English has been replaced by more formal language, thus reducing the opportunities for wordplay. Office jargon is intoned mantra-like with the kind of reverence usually reserved for the spiritual. Social events are awkward affairs, with polite conversation replacing raucous laughter. At a recent conference, a girl turned to me bright-eyed at the start and said, without any trace of irony: 'Are you excited?' I didn't know what to say. A simple 'no' would have been churlish. Besides, she was young and enthusiastic, and I didn't want to burst her bubble. So, I said, obliquely, 'I'm sure it will have its moments.' After listening glassy-eyed to the mangled syntax of the CEO's homily – and several dull presentations – we broke for lunch. Our new director spotted me and came bouncing over like Tigger after a generous line of coke. My face froze into a rictus smile. He had the gleam of a religious convert in his eye, and I was forced to listen to him wax enthusiastic about the latest dreary initiatives for half an hour. His enthusiasm for the mundane alarmed me. If he was faking it, he was bloody convincing. So, what or who is to blame for this? The overreach of human resources (or 'human remains' as I've heard it called rather aptly), government legislation, micromanagement, fear of being called out for triggering someone, or worse, being cancelled? About once a quarter, I meet up with a group of former colleagues, intelligent individuals who are skilled in their respective fields. Being middle-aged, they also have a healthy sense of irony, so, for an evening, we're gloriously free of the usual oppressive restrictions. The no-holds-barred conversation is like breathing deep gulps of fresh air after being starved of oxygen. Back in the office the following day, I have to remember to keep it zipped, lest I reveal myself to be a horrid old reactionary. These days, if you have a keen sense of the absurd – or any intellectual curiosity – it's best kept to yourself. It will only get you into trouble. Quiet conformity is what's expected. On the few occasions I've detected signs of unorthodoxy in others and tried to engage them in proper conversation, their eyes have searched mine pleadingly, semaphoring: 'Please don't say anything.' And so, they've been able to maintain the pretence of being a true believer. Despite the unnerving degree of quiescence seen in the workplace, Gallup's 2024 State of the Global Workplace report suggests it's not leading to increased productivity. According to the report, employee enthusiasm dropped to just 21 per cent, at a cost to the global economy of $438 billion. My tongue-in-cheek suggestion is that each organisation should have its own jester or holy fool. Someone who can say what the rest of us are thinking without getting into trouble: 'Sorry, chief, but that's bullshit.' After all, how often are any of us brave enough to point out to the emperor that he isn't wearing any clothes? This year marks the 50th anniversary of the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name, it depicts the protagonist, Randle McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, as a psychiatric patient who constantly challenges the authority of the hated Nurse Ratched. His antagonising of her – drinking, running card tables, smuggling in prostitutes – eventually leads to his lobotomisation. As a commentary on institutional power, the dehumanising effects of conformity, and the struggle for individual freedom and identity, it remains frighteningly germane. If this severing of the prefrontal cortex were to end, not only would we be happier, but we'f also be more productive. Gallup's report claims that if workforces became fully excited about thier jobs, the global economy could grow by $9.6 trillion. At one point, Randle McMurphy says: 'You know, that's the first thing that got me about this place, that there wasn't anybody laughing. I haven't heard a real laugh since I came through that door, do you know that?' So, let's stick it to the Nurse Ratcheds of this world and bring fun and laughter back into the workplace. Throw off the shackles that restrict creative thought and encourage freedom of expression once again. But maybe we should leave the gaming table and prostitutes where they belong – that might be a step too far.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nicole Kidman Posts Rare Pic with Her Mother & Two Daughters
Mother's Day certainly brought all of the feels for all of our favorite royals, actors and celebrities—including Nicole Kidman, who took to Instagram to post a sweet picture with her mother, Janelle, and her daughters, Faith (14) and Sunday (16). Sharing a picture of the family vacationing in Uluru, aka Ayers Rock in Australia, Kidman cheerfully captioned the post,"My mother and my daughters in Uluru, beautiful memories…always. Happy Mother's Day." The comments were equally sweet, with fans leaving adoring messages such as "beautiful family" and heart-eye emojis. Kidman, who is married to singer Keith Urban, expressed just how much the people in her life mean to her at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala in 2024, telling the crowd, "Right there is the love of my life, and the loves of my life. My daughters have never been anywhere publicly with me on a red carpet, tonight was their first night, so they're here, Sunday and Faith. And then there's all my nieces and nephews and my sissy and my beautiful aunt and her husband, who's our family now. And this is all because of you, and I love you so much. So there's no place like home, as they say. You're my home. And thank you for flying halfway across the world." Aside from spending time with the fam, Kidman is also enjoying the release of her latest film Holland, which has received a rave review from Senior Commerce Editor, Stephanie Maida. "The beginning of the movie reminded me of yet another Kidman classic: The Stepford Wives,' Maida writes in her review. "Kidman always nails it as a woman on the brink, while Macfadyen and García Bernal stepped into their roles perfectly—the former an aggravatingly cloying husband with a penchant for 'boops' on the nose, the latter, a nerve-wracked man who'll do anything for love." A wonderful Mother's Day, a new movie and breaking the internet with a bold, pantless look—Nicole Kidman is absolutely living her best life. Kate Middleton Was Just Spotted Carrying Her Favorite $450 Handbag (Again) PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women's walking shoes that won't hurt your feet, we've got you covered.
