It’ll be the ethical debate to define our generation. The robots are coming, whether you like it or not, and a lot of people are very open to the idea of fucking them. We use tech constantly for our every daily need. It’s only inevitable that society would use it to satiate other needs, whether morally right or wrong.

There are plenty who aren’t down with the idea of getting down with something inanimate but intelligent. Only this month a campaign was launched to ban sex robots on the basis that the use of them would objectify women and children and “further reduce the human empathy”. And then there’s the concern that as advancing technology blurs the line between human and robot, should robots get rights? Surely one day it’ll deserve the authority to say no?

Now the Japanese company who make the extremely popular robot, Pepper, have taken a stand. SoftBank has made a user’s agreement for anyone who buys their four foot robot. And if you wanted the little guy to help enact your long-standing debased desires, let’s just say, you might be disappointed. Pepper is reportedly the world’s first "emotional robot", a machine that can work out how you’re feeling and adapt accordingly. So maybe if it sense your lust it’ll lock into "run away mode".

The company’s new rules explicity say that both “sexual intercourse” and “lewd acts” are prohibited. Costumers are also forbidden to hack the robot’s vocal software to make it sound sexier.

As the Japan Times notes, it’s still unclear what action SoftBank will take against those who violate the robot. How could anyone find out, until Pepper got so advanced it could report its owner? The robot, who can apparently read human emotions, has sold extremely well in Japan with each of four shipments selling out in under a minute. The next batch is due to go on sale at the end of October, so maybe then we’ll see how far SoftBank are willing to take their rules.

It makes little difference to those in the market for a play date. True Companion will be launching the first ever sex robot with artificial intelligence later this year. Unlike Pepper, this robot is sold with the strapline "always turned on and ready to talk or play”. 

If you want to have sex with a robot, then there’ll be a way. But what this user’s agreement shows is that companies are very aware of how their products could be used and that they’ll wade in on the debate, if they think it’s necessary.