Projo Offbeat Blog

A researcher in the Netherlands is predicting that humans will some day be able to marry robots -- and (Stop reading now if you've got a weak stomach) consummate those vows.

"My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize marriages with robots," artificial intelligence researcher David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands said, according to a story on the Web site Livescience.com.

Earlier this month, I wrote about people becoming attached to robots such as their Roomba robotic vacuums. Some people give their robots names, dress them up, and fret about them when they signal for help.

And I thought that was offbeat behavior.

Levy, who wrote his thesis on human relationships with artificial partners, says as robots become more humanlike it's "inevitable" that people will fall in love with them.

And because robots are programmable, their owners (spouses?) can shape them in ways some people can only dream of shaping their real, live human partners.

So I guess there's hope after all for the controlling spouse, and for those who've tried everything but failed to find Mr. or Mrs. Right.

Just imagine someday telling your friends or family, "I know, she's a little stiff on the dancer floor, and her personality could be described as robotic, but she's programmed to cook dinner and mow the lawn."

Comments

Pam Cotter said:

I knew this was going to happen when I saw it on SpongeBob Squarepants -- after all, Karen the computer is Plankton's wife. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_the_Computer

Link | October 17, 2007 11:19 AM
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