Topic > Analysis of the article by Lauren Slater "Who holds the...

Authentic and intimate relationships are very important in our lives. Turkle defined the word authenticity in her article. She says that “Authenticity, for me, comes from the ability to put ourselves in the other's shoes, to relate to the other because of the shared baggage of human experiences: we are born, we have families, we know loss and the reality of death. A robot, however sophisticated, is clearly out of this loop” (268). By stating this he wants to highlight that when humanity shares experiences with others, it becomes emotionally attached and establishes authentic relationships. However, sharing experiences with robots does not imply emotions, because robots are not human . They are just man-made creatures that seem alive, but can't have any feelings. People use robots to make love and to share their feelings. "Love and sex seem to celebrate an emotional numbing, a voluntary distancing from the complexities of human partnership: the inauthentic as a new aesthetic" (268). Here aesthetics means appreciating the beauty of robots. When people start to love robots, they appreciate the beauty of unreal relationships with robots rather than having real, intimate relationships. Having love and sex with robots does not involve emotions. As a technological creature, the robot can only give pleasure and satisfaction to the user without any feelings of love and care. There are many medical technologies developed to make love produce inauthentically. Slater talks about medical technology like neural implantation. It's about Mario who had OCD and underwent a neural implant to love his daughter and family. Slater says: “He wanted something ordinary, a lawn that he only mowed once a week. The ability to tolerate mess and the touch of children. He decided the