14 Oct 2007, 0018 hrs IST
Humans could marry robots within the century. And consummate those vows, according to an artificial intelligence researcher.
“My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalise marriages with robots,” David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands told LiveScience. Levy recently completed his PhD work on the subject of human-robot relationships.
The idea of romance between humanity and our artistic and/or mechanical creations dates back to ancient times, with the Greek myth of the sculptor Pygmalion falling in love with the ivory statue he made named Galatea, to which the goddess Venus eventually granted life. This notion persists in modern times. Not only has science fiction explored this idea, but 40 years ago, scientists noticed that students at times became unusually attracted to ELIZA, a computer program designed to ask questions and mimic a psychotherapist.
“There’s a trend of robots becoming more human-like in appearance and coming more in contact with humans,” Levy said. “At first robots were used impersonally, in factories where they helped build automobiles, for instance. Then they were used in offices to deliver mail, or to show visitors around museums, or in homes as vacuum cleaners, such as with the Roomba. Now you have robot toys, like Sony’s Aibo robot dog, or Tickle Me Elmos, or digital pets like Tamagotchis.”
In his thesis, Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners, Levy conjectures that robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them. “It may sound a little weird, but it isn’t,” Levy said. “Love and sex with robots are inevitable.”
Levy argues that psychologists have identified roughly a dozen basic reasons why people fall in love, “and almost all of them could apply to human-robot relationships. For instance, one thing that prompts people to fall in love are similarities in personality and knowledge, and all of this is programmable. Another reason people are more likely to fall in love is if they know the other person likes them, and that’s programmable too.”
In 2006, Henrik Christensen, founder of the European Robotics Research Network, predicted that people will be having sex with robots within five years, and Levy thinks that’s quite likely. There are companies that already sell realistic sex dolls, “and it’s just a matter of adding some electronics to them to add some vibration,” he said, or endowing the robots with a few audio responses. As software becomes more advanced and the relationship between humans and robots becomes more personal, marriage could result. “The question is not if this will happen, but when,” Levy said. “I am convinced the answer is much earlier than you think.”
The possibility of sex with robots could prove a mixed bag for humanity. For instance, robot sex could provide an outlet for criminal sexual urges. “If you have paedophiles and you let them use a robotic child, will that reduce the incidence of them abusing real children, or will it increase it?” roboticist Ronald Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta asked. “I don’t think anyone has the answers for that yet-that’s where future research needs to be done.”
Arkin noted that “if we allow robots to become a part of everyday life and bond with them, we’ll have to ask questions about what’s going to happen to our social fabric. How will they change humanity and civilisation? I don’t have any answers, but I think it’s something we need to study. There’s a real potential for intimacy here, where humans become psychologically and emotionally attached to these devices in ways we wouldn’t to a vibrator.”
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What an interesting article!! It’s not hard to believe, but hard to believe it could come so soon. My youngest daughter was born in 2005. She’d be 45 in 2050. Her prime!! Ahhhh! No seriously, this is what “I, Robot”, “A.I.” and “Robots” is all about! “Robots” was probably made to adjust the children to the future. You know, I wouldn’t mind a Robot (OMG, I’m capitalizing it) to clean my home and cook me dinner. But the logical side of me is fearful of robots. They have already taken many away many human jobs. I DO consider Metrocard and ATM machines robots. And to imagine robots taking over the planet and eliminating the human race. VERY possible!
Back to the point though… Robot SEX. Or even stranger, Robot Marriage. So, do you go on a Honeymoon together? Do you hold a funeral should the robot crash and become unfunctionable? How much would it cost to upgrade your husband? Would your robot-husband’s fingers be cold? Ehhhhh…I’ll stop here.
Question: Will these robots still be banned in Alabama??