Robots That Love: Artificial Amours in Myth, Folklore, Literature, Popular Culture and the Real World

In a world of increasingly sophisticated AI, the relationship between creator and creation has shifted. Robot lovers coexist with humans, and the boundaries of emotion and consciousness are blurred. This book considers the fundamental challenge of imbuing robots with the capacity to experience love, delving into the consequences of loving robots that can only feign reciprocation and philosophical questions about sentience and consciousness. Other forms of artificial lovers are also discussed, ranging from ChatGPT and Samantha from the 2013 film Her to a variety of sex dolls, monsters, golems and romanceable characters in dating-simulation games. Such entities encompass an array of sexual and gender identities as well as gender biases involved in creating the "perfect" artificial companion and developing AI systems. These biases, often perpetuated by deep-learning algorithms, underscore the need for critical reflection amid the evolution of AI. Read more