Wednesday, September 24, 2008

People will be marrying robots by 2050

While the idea of human-robot marriage may seem far-fetched now, it may one day come to pass if artificial intelligence researcher David Levy's theory is correct.

The British researcher that by 2050, robots and humans will be able to marry legally in the United States. He predicts that Massachusetts will lead the way as it did in 2004, when it became the first state to allow same-sex marriages between humans. (North Carolina will of course oppose it)

As robots become increasingly human in appearance, he believes that people will begin to have sex with robots -- as soon as 2011. Physical attractiveness, coupled with the advances in robot programming that will allow human-like emotions and intellect in robots, could produce artificial mates that some humans will want to marry.

They consider this "inevitable" Check out this Japanese Robot!

He concluded that all of the most important factors that cause humans to fall in love with one another could be programmed into robots. Do you like your women to be coquettish? Your robot will be programmed to be demure and to flirt. (and no mother-in-law to deal with)

If you are a women, does a strong, sensitive man who likes to build premium furniture light your fire? In the not-too-distant future, say some researchers, your perfect man will be available for purchase. ( "Honey, please knock out the wall between the kitchen and the living room before you come to bed." )

They don’t believe all humans will go for robots. Instead, Levy thinks that robots will offer a few people a viable alternative to being unable to find their ideal partner. For example shy people who are uncomfortable meeting others could potentially benefit from marriage to a robot. So, too, could the mentally ill and people who "have unpleasant personalities" ( Presumably, many politicians would be married to robots. )

I question why people would marry a robot when they could just live with one. Cohabitation is very acceptable these days, even in the most conservative states. Of course some states have laws regarding common law marriage that in effect cause you to be classified as married after a certain period of cohabitation....not sure how they would be enforced with robots. Read more about this. Listen or get podcast.

Rock and Roll Dongles

Dongles are the name (for some reason) of those USB flash drives that plug into most computers. They have been used for easily moving computer files around. Now, they will be used for distribution of albums of music and even video. Listen

This is significant because the sale of CD's are crashing. What is different about this versus the rise of CD's years ago is that most people already have the capability of using Rock and Roll Dongles, since their computers and now cell phones are already compatible. When CD's came out, you had to go buy a CD player. So this trend should be significant.

Read more about this.