Will You Fall In Love With A Robot?

Now it is is the stuff of late-night television jokes and taboo, but in the future robotic companionship, love and even sex is sure to become more common.  Recall that Jude Law's character in the film, A.I., was programmed as a gigolo.

David Levy, a leading expert in artificial intelligence, has written Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships, an eye-opening but superbly argued book about how increasing innovation in robotic technology is enabling legitimate romantic and sexual relationships between humans and robots. Synthesizing breaking news in the field of robotics with the cultural history, technological development, art, literature, and psychology of artificial intelligence, "Love and Sex with Robots" explores the possibilities of human-robot relationships in depth.  Levy's basic idea is that, for humans who cannot establish emotional or sexual connections with other people, they might form them with robots.


Shocking yet wildly informative, "Love and Sex with Robots" builds on that fascination to show how entities we once deemed benign and unresponsive may very well turn out to be objects of real, human desire.

I don't think the advent of emotional and sexual relationships with robots with end or damage human–human relationships. People will still love people and have sex with people. But I think there are people who feel a void in their emotional and sex lives for any number of reasons who could benefit from robots. Other people might try out a relationship with a robot out of curiosity, or be fascinated by what's written in the media. And there are always people who want to keep up with the neighbors. -Levy in a 2008 Interview with Scientific American

True Companion already is selling companion sex toys, that have more AI than the old-fashioned blow-up doll.  The company carries both a "Roxxxy" female and "Rocky" male version of their sexbot.  According to the website of the company, Roxxxy is not limited to sexual uses and "can carry on a discussion and expresses her love to you. She can talk to you, listen to you and feel your touch." Other features include touch sensors that give Roxxxy the ability to sense when it is being moved. The robot's vocabulary may be updated with the help of a laptop (connected to the back by cables) and the Internet.

From simple dolls to sophisticated robots, they seem to be winning the hearts and minds of people who've given up on finding true love. In the video below, Gayane Chichakyan reporting for RT has more from the world of the synthetic spouse.