Abstract
The trend of robotics research and development, from industrial robots to service robots to companion and carer robots, has as its logical continuation the design and construction of partner robots, sufficiently human-like and sufficiently appealing in various ways to take on the role of a partner in a relationship with a human being. This trend immediately raises many questions relating to humans loving and being loved by robots, treating robots as life partners and being similarly treated by them, marrying robots and having sex with robots. We discuss some aspects of human-robot marriage and reassess the author’s 10-year-old prediction that the first human-robot marriage will take place in the state of Massachusetts around the year 2050.
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Notes
- 1.
The content of this chapter is from a keynote speech delivered by Dr. David Levy at the Second International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots in London, 2016.
- 2.
Tom Scocca, 2010, “Newt Gingrich on Gay Marriage: Shameless and/or Fearless”, Slate. http://www.slate.com/blogs/scocca/2010/08/05/newt_gingrich_on_gay_marriage_shameless_and_or_fearless.html.
- 3.
“Defence of Marriage Act”, 1996. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ199/html/PLAW-104publ199.htm.
- 4.
“Southern Baptist Convention resolutions”. 2003. http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/1128.
- 5.
Gary Marchant, 2015, “A.I. Thee Wed”, Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/08/humans_should_be_able_to_marry_robots.html.
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Cheok, A.D., Zhang, E.Y. (2019). Why Not Marry a Robot?. In: Human–Robot Intimate Relationships. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94730-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94730-3_9
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