With the rapidly approaching prospect of singularity and artificial intelligence dominance taking a high profile role in our society, some soul searching will be required. We may face a major shift in our attitudes about marriage and human robot interface. Will once lonely men to be relegated to an existence of isolation thanks to society’s obsession with youthful beauty and pop culture standards of morality having an option? Will those who have had more than a couple of divorces be faced with never finding another partner again? Will the biased influence of Women’s Lib be allowed to side track commitment between the sexes and make heartbreak a norm in our lives?

Who stands to benefit?

For some men who just aren’t that assertive, or financially impressive enough to attract “Gold Diggers” the prospect of a robotic companion may be the only viable alternative. Robots have been developed to the point of intelligence using AI that they can conduct conversations, learn from their partners, and interact on an almost human level. With the advent of flesh imitation quality silicone and even biologically integrated silicone combination, the feel of a robotic bride is almost indistinguishable from that of a real person. They are now using internal heating to give the artificial flesh warmth like a living person, and soon there will be breathing robotic partners available.

Appeal may vary

With advanced sensors and cameras in the eyes the ability of the robot lover to follow people, their movements, and engage in a life-like conversation with humans may seem spooky to some while others would find this behavior enthralling. Even the most well artistically reproduced model robots are still a bit clunky though their physical features seem very realistic down to the hair and freckles on the skin! When they speak their cheeks will vibrate rather than act as muscularly driven tissue, but there are robots that have as many as a hundred or more different expressions.

The new alternative

There are new female robots coming up in Japan and even China that are so realistic people are, in fact, mistaking them for real people or children. The state of the art is rapidly advancing and for more than 3,000 men worldwide, one manufacturer in California makes realistic love dolls that have AI intellect but no movement. Yet, these buyers are very happy with their substitute for a female companion. As one man says, “They don’t come with emotional baggage or an attitude, and they don’t get headaches!”

Social impact

Be that as it may, will we get to the point when robots are impossible to identify between themselves and humans? Will they blend seamlessly into society and be accepted? This could be an answer to loneliness and isolation for the elderly, widows with no hope of finding another partner, disabled patients who need compassion and care, the shortage of women in many Asian countries due to past government regulations of limiting family size? Could this even cause a massive reduction in population growth as more and more lonely and abandoned men choose an automaton as their mate? These are all serious questions that may not be resolved by the time there are already a huge population of robots living among men and women as partners not just humanoid service machines people see at restaurants or factories.

Choices are now available

Categories we now have that are marketable would simply be 1) AI dolls without movement mannequin-like 2) Would be limited movement robot partner with vocal communication skills and romantic function, and 3) Fully functioning models that can operate autonomously, walking, conversing, learning about their partner, and even performing sex acts with great realism. Could this make the already faltering aspects of modern marriage between people even more unstable and lacking permanence? For men and women who have been abandoned, abused, or are not good at initiating contact with the opposite sex this could be a God send.

The perfect partner an illusion?

Now, let’s talk about how human nature has brought this about. Women, have definitely encouraged men to seek this robotic partnership as an alternative due to the modern feminist oriented pop culture morality that makes a partner expendable in this day and age. Lack of commitment and multiple partners in the course of a lifetime along with the social obsession with youth worship and physical perfection has made the demands on both men and women seem unattainable. A robotic lover doesn’t judge or compare. The robotic alternative doesn’t envy or criticize, what a relief for men. Most of all the robotic companion comes without baggage, bitterness, defensiveness, or narcissistic tendencies that make many women think they need to be treated like a queen constantly while always being dissatisfied. Would robots cheat? Doubtful. Would robots use men like stepping stones to a better condition? Likely not!

The times began changing

In the world of karma, everything that goes around seems to come around. Once in western culture there was a time when the man was the head of the household unquestioningly. Couples accepted their lives together for better or for worse, and sought to build a future together. That all changed beginning in the 1960’s as women sought to compete in the workplace, more and more found that being a mother and child bearer were not satisfying enough. Women began questioning their men’s judgment and controlling them rather than respecting them. The conventional culture of the nuclear family changed and not for the better as statistics would show.

Technological revolution in human relationships

We have now evolved as a society technologically to where a new and disturbing possibility has emerged. It will change human relations forever as men and women find that there is not just an alternative for male and female genders that involves another imperfect lover with faults and a history of abuse or sadness that may plague the life of a new partner in a regrettable way. There will be a new pathway where a human can literally begin with a brand new start with a programmed and well-designed option that they can have the freedom to choose from that could actually allow for a different level of relationship harmony, no lies, no fights, no arguments, sex that can be perfected to one’s liking, and a type of future that becomes more certain with no grim surprises like infidelity, health problems, or mental disorders that punish the other partner.

Final thoughts

Personally, I couldn’t engage with today’s level of robot though they are coming along impressively, but when robots reach the realism of the kind in the movie “Blade Runner” which starred Harrison Ford and Sean Young, I’d buy in! Of course without the threat of android rebellion and robots that would be infinitely more powerful than humans that I could do without.