In 2015, Americans Mark Gouldfider from Emory University Law School and a graduate robot student Josef Reisin wondered: under what conditions would a marriage be registered with a robot? And they came to the conclusion that the answer depends on whether the robot is recognized as a person , RIA Novosti reports.
If this happens, the robot will have to assume social responsibility, obligations stipulated by law. An example is the registration of a marriage in Seattle between Angela Marie Vogel and a corporation. Although the verdict was soon canceled, a precedent was created.
For marriage, the key condition is also the consent of the parties. And if the robot is recognized as a person, it should be endowed with the ability to agree to a marriage contract. But then a lot of philosophical questions arise, for example, can artificial intelligence realize the essence of marriage, but all this is beyond the scope of legal law. If the marriage is legal and does not harm anyone, then why not, the scientists make conclusions.
Artificial intelligence specialist, computer chess creator David Levy (Great Britain) in his book Love and Sex with Robots, published in 2007, suggested that the first marriage with a robot would be registered in 2050.
In 2016, the Frenchwoman Lilly wanted to marry a robot. Her favorite was InMoovator, which she printed on a 3D printer.
A year later, Chinese Jiajia Zhenyu, an expert in artificial intelligence, was married to a robot, however, unofficially. As the media reported, the young man was desperate to find a girl and was tired of the reproaches of the family, so he organized a solemn ceremony with the robot, inviting his mother and friends.
In 2017, the non-profit foundation “For Responsible Robotics” presented the report “Our sexual future with robots” at the Scientific Media Center in London. Interviewing industry experts and scientists, the authors concluded that robots for sex could be created in the near future and this would greatly affect society, although it is impossible to predict how.
Most respondents are inclined to believe that the development of the market for sex robots will lead to social isolation. Manufacturers of this kind of machines say the opposite: robots will save from loneliness.
While the humanoid robots are not yet perfect, but technology, in principle, allows to achieve a complete imitation of romantic relationships and sex. This will change the sex services market, say the report’s authors. It is assumed that robots will engage in brothels (the first such institutions have already opened in Asia and Europe) and medicine for the treatment of complex cases of sexual disorder. It is possible that robots will satisfy the darkest needs of people.
All this raises concerns among professionals and the public. What will be the impact on the human psyche that the first sexual experience will be with the robot? Will a person be able to control himself with a real partner if he permits violence over the machine?
Participants in the Campaign against Sexrobots, created in 2015, propose to adhere to ethical principles when developing such automata. Activists believe that this industry is potentially dangerous for society, increases social inequality, increases the level of inadequacy and violence, weakens the ability to empathize with people.
Canadian philosopher Neil MacArthur from the University of Manitoba and the American psychologist Mark Twist from the University of Nevada study a new social phenomenon in a series of articles - people identifying their own sexual behavior through technology that prefers relationships with robots. They are offered to be called digitalsexuals. The term “robosexuals” is also found in literature and media.
Scientists distinguish two waves of digital sexuality. The first is programs, sites, devices with the help of which people communicate with each other: dating sites, flirting by video chatting, computer games with virtual sex avatars, and so on. These technologies serve only as intermediaries between real partners.
The second wave - technologies and devices that create the effect of presence: augmented reality helmets, sex robots. To meet intimate needs, a real partner is not needed. Such technologies are still underdeveloped so as to oust relations between people, but this time is not far off, MacArthur and Twist believe.
Researchers are not willing to predict the fate of digital sexuality. Partner robots can remain only sex toys, fetishes. However, the emergence of a new gender identity is not excluded. The society still has a negative attitude towards such a prospect; physicians, faced with robosexuals, do not always understand what they are talking about, but things can change in the coming years.