
Turned On
Science, Sex and Robots
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $16.35
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kate Devlin
-
By:
-
Kate Devlin
About this listen
The idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the ancient Greeks to 21st-century movies, robots in human form have captured our imagination, our hopes and our fears. But beyond the fantasies there are real and fundamental questions about our relationship with technology as it moves into the realm of robotics.
Sexual activity is central to our very existence; it shapes how we think, how we act and how we live. With advances in technology come machines that may one day think independently. What will happen to us when we form close relationships with these intelligent systems? Sex robots are here and here to stay, and more are coming.
This audiobook explores how the emerging and future development of sexual companion robots might affect us and the society in which we live. It explores the social changes arising from emerging technologies and our relationships with the machines that may someday care for us and about us.
Chapter by chapter, this audiobook will build on the science and the philosophy surrounding our most intimate relationship with technology. The scene is set with the history of the artificial sexual companion, then goes on to explore the ‘modern’ robot and the 20th-century sci-fi that promised us our own robot slaves.
This is followed by an explanation of artificial intelligence and the urge to create sentient machines. It delves into our own psychology: how does desire affect our own behaviour, and can we become attached to an inanimate object? This then leads to a discussion of the good (robots making society a better place) and the bad (the potential for all to go wrong).
©2018 Kate Devlin (P)2018 Audible, LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
Future Crimes
- Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It
- By: Marc Goodman
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Marc Goodman
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Technological advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: our technology can be turned against us. Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on families, thieves are analyzing social media posts to plot home invasions, and stalkers are exploiting the GPS on smart phones to track their victims’ every move. We all know today’s criminals can steal identities, drain online bank accounts, and wipe out computer servers, but that’s just the beginning.
-
-
The book for all of us to help protect us
- By Sandeep on 10-12-15
By: Marc Goodman
-
The Harvard Psychedelic Club
- How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America
- By: Don Lattin
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is impossible to overstate the cultural significance of the four men described in Don Lattin's The Harvard Psychedelic Club. Huston Smith, tirelessly working to promote cross-cultural religious and spiritual tolerance. Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, inspiring generations with his mantra "be here now". Andrew Weil, undisputed leader of the holistic medicine revolution. And, of course, Timothy Leary, the charismatic, rebellious counterculture icon and LSD guru.
-
-
A Fascinating, Engaging Story, Expertly Told
- By Gillian Culff on 12-12-19
By: Don Lattin
-
Friendship
- The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond
- By: Lydia Denworth
- Narrated by: Tiffany Morgan
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With warmth and compassion, Denworth weaves together past and present, field biology and cutting-edge neuroscience, to show how our bodies and minds are designed to make friends, the process by which social bonds develop, and how a drive for friendship underpins human (and nonhuman) society. With its refreshingly optimistic vision of the evolution of human nature, this book puts friendship at the center of our lives.
-
-
The answer to most of our ills & pain
- By Brian on 02-22-20
By: Lydia Denworth
-
Hallucinations
- By: Oliver Sacks
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Oliver Sacks
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hallucinations don’t belong wholly to the insane. Much more commonly, they are linked to sensory deprivation, intoxication, illness, or injury. Here Dr. Sacks weaves together stories of his patients and of his own mind-altering experiences to illuminate what hallucinations tell us about the organization and structure of our brains, how they have influenced every culture’s folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.
-
-
Not Just Hallucinations
- By Pamela Harvey on 01-05-13
By: Oliver Sacks
-
Wordslut
- A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language
- By: Amanda Montell
- Narrated by: Amanda Montell
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us, written with humor and playfulness that challenges words and phrases and how we use them. Montell effortlessly moves between history and popular culture to explore these questions and more. Wordslut gets to the heart of our language, marvels at its elasticity, and sheds much-needed light into the biases that shadow women in our culture and our consciousness.
-
-
Loved this book
- By chris boutte on 06-24-21
By: Amanda Montell
-
Exercised
- Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding
- By: Daniel E. Lieberman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise - to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, Lieberman recounts without jargon how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion.
-
-
Great book to listen to in the gym!
- By aaron on 01-22-21
-
Future Crimes
- Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It
- By: Marc Goodman
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Marc Goodman
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Technological advances have benefited our world in immeasurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: our technology can be turned against us. Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on families, thieves are analyzing social media posts to plot home invasions, and stalkers are exploiting the GPS on smart phones to track their victims’ every move. We all know today’s criminals can steal identities, drain online bank accounts, and wipe out computer servers, but that’s just the beginning.
-
-
The book for all of us to help protect us
- By Sandeep on 10-12-15
By: Marc Goodman
-
The Harvard Psychedelic Club
- How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America
- By: Don Lattin
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is impossible to overstate the cultural significance of the four men described in Don Lattin's The Harvard Psychedelic Club. Huston Smith, tirelessly working to promote cross-cultural religious and spiritual tolerance. Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, inspiring generations with his mantra "be here now". Andrew Weil, undisputed leader of the holistic medicine revolution. And, of course, Timothy Leary, the charismatic, rebellious counterculture icon and LSD guru.
-
-
A Fascinating, Engaging Story, Expertly Told
- By Gillian Culff on 12-12-19
By: Don Lattin
-
Friendship
- The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond
- By: Lydia Denworth
- Narrated by: Tiffany Morgan
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With warmth and compassion, Denworth weaves together past and present, field biology and cutting-edge neuroscience, to show how our bodies and minds are designed to make friends, the process by which social bonds develop, and how a drive for friendship underpins human (and nonhuman) society. With its refreshingly optimistic vision of the evolution of human nature, this book puts friendship at the center of our lives.
-
-
The answer to most of our ills & pain
- By Brian on 02-22-20
By: Lydia Denworth
-
Hallucinations
- By: Oliver Sacks
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Oliver Sacks
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hallucinations don’t belong wholly to the insane. Much more commonly, they are linked to sensory deprivation, intoxication, illness, or injury. Here Dr. Sacks weaves together stories of his patients and of his own mind-altering experiences to illuminate what hallucinations tell us about the organization and structure of our brains, how they have influenced every culture’s folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.
-
-
Not Just Hallucinations
- By Pamela Harvey on 01-05-13
By: Oliver Sacks
-
Wordslut
- A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language
- By: Amanda Montell
- Narrated by: Amanda Montell
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us, written with humor and playfulness that challenges words and phrases and how we use them. Montell effortlessly moves between history and popular culture to explore these questions and more. Wordslut gets to the heart of our language, marvels at its elasticity, and sheds much-needed light into the biases that shadow women in our culture and our consciousness.
-
-
Loved this book
- By chris boutte on 06-24-21
By: Amanda Montell
-
Exercised
- Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding
- By: Daniel E. Lieberman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise - to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, Lieberman recounts without jargon how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion.
-
-
Great book to listen to in the gym!
- By aaron on 01-22-21
-
Algorithms of Oppression
- How Search Engines Reinforce Racism
- By: Safiya Umoja Noble
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Run a Google search for “black girls” - what will you find? “Big Booty” and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in “white girls”, the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about “why black women are so sassy” or “why black women are so angry” presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society. In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities.
-
-
Read this book. Tell everyone you know about it.
- By Joshua Daniel-Wariya on 06-06-19
-
Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?
- The Epic Saga of the Bird That Powers Civilization
- By: Andrew Lawler
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From ancient empires to modern economics, veteran journalist Andrew Lawler delivers a sweeping history of the animal that has been most crucial to the spread of civilization across the globe: the chicken. Queen Victoria was obsessed with it. Socrates' last words were about it. Charles Darwin and Louis Pasteur made their scientific breakthroughs using it. Catholic popes, African shamans, Chinese philosophers, and Muslim mystics praised it.
-
-
Never imagined the volume of bird trivia
- By Neuron on 11-04-18
By: Andrew Lawler
-
The Metaverse
- And How It Will Revolutionize Everything
- By: Matthew Ball
- Narrated by: Luis Moreno
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The term metaverse is suddenly everywhere, from debates over Fortnite to the pages of the New York Times to the speeches of Mark Zuckerberg, who proclaimed in June 2021 that “the overarching goal” of Facebook is to “bring the metaverse to life”. But what, exactly, is the metaverse? As pioneering theorist and venture capitalist Matthew Ball explains, it is the successor to the mobile internet that has defined the last two decades.
-
-
Not a must read
- By Andrew on 08-09-22
By: Matthew Ball
-
Deep Descent
- Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria
- By: Kevin F. McMurray
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a foggy July evening in 1956, the Italian cruise liner Andrea Doria, bound for New York, was struck broadside by another vessel. In eleven hours, she would sink nearly 250 feet to the murky Atlantic Ocean floor. Thanks to a daring rescue operation, only 51 of more than 1,700 people died in the tragedy. But the Andrea Doria is still taking lives. Considered the Mt. Everest of diving, the Andrea Doria is the ultimate deepwater wreck challenge.
-
-
A must read for every deep diver
- By DocYinYang on 10-20-19
-
Separate
- The Story of Plessy V. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation
- By: Steve Luxenberg
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with "separate but equal", created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their near-unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is one of the most compelling and dramatic stories of the 19th century, whose outcome embraced and protected segregation, and whose reverberations are still felt into the 21st. Separate spans a striking range of characters and landscapes, bound together by the defining issue of their time and ours - race and equality.
-
-
Black and White in shades of grey
- By JKC on 03-15-19
By: Steve Luxenberg
-
T-Minus AI
- Humanity's Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power
- By: Michael Kanaan
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In T-Minus AI: Humanity's Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power, author Michael Kanaan explains the realities of AI from a human-oriented perspective that's easy to comprehend. A recognized national expert and the U.S. Air Force's first Chairperson for Artificial Intelligence, Kanaan weaves a compelling new view on our history of innovation and technology to masterfully explain what each of us should know about modern computing, AI, and machine learning.
-
-
Trivial Book Regarding AI
- By AstroMan on 10-30-20
By: Michael Kanaan
-
Buzz
- The Nature and Necessity of Bees
- By: Thor Hanson
- Narrated by: Brant Pope
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing.
-
-
Not just honeybees!
- By Joshua R. Jacobs on 11-28-18
By: Thor Hanson
-
How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls
- Animal Movement and the Robots of the Future
- By: David Hu
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes listeners on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious.
-
-
Fun, entertaining, hilarious, and informative
- By Susan T on 11-04-19
By: David Hu
-
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth
- And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine
- By: Thomas Morris
- Narrated by: Thomas Morris, Ruper Farley
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A puzzling series of dental explosions beginning in the 19th century is just one of many strange tales that have long lain undiscovered in the pages of old medical journals. Award-winning medical historian Thomas Morris delivers one of the most remarkable, cringe-inducing collections of stories ever assembled.
-
-
Boring Toilet Humor
- By Nemo on 01-30-20
By: Thomas Morris
-
Power, Sex, Suicide
- Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
- By: Nick Lane
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, author Nick Lane brings together the latest research findings in the exciting field of mitochondria research to reveal how our growing understanding of mitochondria is shedding light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. This understanding is of fundamental importance, both in understanding how we and all other complex life came to be, but also in order to be able to control our own illnesses, and delay our degeneration and death.
-
-
Possibly the heaviest Nick Lane book I've read
- By Mic Mises on 05-20-19
By: Nick Lane
-
How We Learn
- Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine...for Now
- By: Stanislas Dehaene
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The human brain is an extraordinary machine. Its ability to process information and adapt to circumstances by reprogramming itself is unparalleled and it remains the best source of inspiration for recent developments in artificial intelligence. In How We Learn, Stanislas Dehaene decodes the brain's biological mechanisms, delving into the neuronal, synaptic, and molecular processes taking place. He explains why youth is such a sensitive period, but assures us that our abilities continue into adulthood and that we can enhance our learning and memory at any age.
-
-
Too pedantic, too didactic
- By RickyF on 12-05-21
-
The Formula
- How Algorithms Solve all our Problems…and Create More
- By: Luke Dormehl
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fascinating guided tour of the complex, fast-moving, and influential world of algorithms - what they are, why they’re such powerful predictors of human behavior, and where they’re headed next. Algorithms exert an extraordinary level of influence on our everyday lives - from dating websites and financial trading floors, through to online retailing and internet searches - Google's search algorithm is now a more closely guarded commercial secret than the recipe for Coca-Cola.
-
-
Not about algorithms. Not an original book.
- By Landon Rordam on 12-02-14
By: Luke Dormehl
What listeners say about Turned On
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pavel
- 01-23-20
Itching for More
A great look into the future of sex and robotics. I am excited to delve further into the topic with more similar titles. Lots of interesting questions.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Malcolm H. Field
- 02-27-24
Creating the conversation
Timely work supporting a discussion I have been asking students to have for many years asking similar questions but not from a “feminist” perspective but from a “what kind of future society do you want?”
Very interesting topics discussed and will be a reference material for my course. I only hope the author can update the book given the rapid developments since the book was published. Worth the read as we need to be constructive with our futures and not let them be created for us by default.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karen
- 01-20-19
Nuanced, Smart, and Compassionate
Dr. Devlin is clearly an expert and has deeply explored the research and philosophy of sex with robots at our current point in history. This book is an uninhibited, nonjudgmental dive into the kind of relationships we have with companions, with lovers, and with technology. The author does not gloss over the disturbing doors that have been opened by creating sex objects and machines in human likenesses, but also does not go off into overly lurid speculation about the potential impacts of such devices. Furthermore, Dr. Devlin’s reading of the text was pleasant and added nuance to my understanding of her intent with the work and my enjoyment of her humor. I highly recommend this book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard Aiken
- 02-25-19
Accent Was Occasionally Challenging
There were a few points where (even after a couple of rewinds) my Southern American ears just could not parse the author/narrator's Irish accent. But I don't think I missed anything important. On the whole, I found the book very interesting and informative, even though I don't completely agree with the author. Unlike her cautious disbelief regarding sentient robots, I think we will get them and sooner than anyone expects. Whether *we* will be interesting enough to such beings to be potential companions for *them* is a different question, though.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lizzie Fokkens
- 09-16-19
A Great Read, But I Found It A Little Lacking
Considering how often the author questioned the hypersexualized female form of existing sex dolls and of sex robots depicted in media, I kept expecting her to delve deeper into why this is. She also seems to make the assumption that this would only be appealing to men, but as a lesbian, I can tell you that that isn't so. In the final chapter, I get the impression that she thinks that sex dolls and robots ought to be designed to optimize sexual pleasure. But from what I've seen, and from my own experience, people who own or want to own one view it as an idealized fantasy made "real." Hence why sex dolls typically look the way they do. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the book, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who's interested in the subject. Kate Devlin has some really interesting views, and I honestly wish I could hear her thoughts on my concerns above.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark Applegate
- 05-15-23
Biased while trashing bias from an echo chamber
Hoping for objectivity. Got none. Extremely biased. Could be called click bait based on the title. Marxist technique was on point...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!