How countries like China and Japan are using robots and AI to choose their lovers. How can artificial love confuse the brain and impact our ability to connect with real humans?
In the brightly lit corners of Tokyo, and the modern maze of Beijing, there is a sense of a futuristic uprising. No, we are not talking about self-driving cars or fancy bathrooms. We are talking about the feeling of love. Countries like Japan and China seem to be accepting AI, not only as the tools for easy work-life, but for something quite more intimate.
“We’ll be having sex with robots in the next 10 years”, an infamous quote, posted exactly ten years ago by TheSun on X (FKA Twitter). At the time, this statement was met with copious amounts of criticism, meme creation and ridicules. However, it is not that far-fetched from reality. We are, actually, entering into the world where humanoid robots and AI programmes can be used by the people who are looking for a romantic relationship, or a companionship. However, how far are we willing to go for it? As technology advances, especially within countries such as Japan and China, social patterns seem to be shifting. With the endless developments of Artificial Intelligence (AI), more and more people are starting to use different forms of AI tools to access the automatic tasks and improve their quality of work.
In recent years the Japanese loneliness has reached the levels where companies now offer their workers chat-bots, and robot pets to keep them company. In China, there are more and more AI driven matchmaking apps being produced, in hopes to improve the country's population levels. In recent years, people reported to be using AI as a form of companionship that has been said to be able to become romantic. Since 2010, Japan has undergone a significant demographic change where the birth rates have and marriage numbers have plummeted significantly. Sawako Shirahase, in the paper titled Demography as Destiny: Falling Birthrates and the Allure of a Blended Society discuss that Japan's population is aging rapidly due to infertility, which causes a great concern.
On one hand, artificial love does sound appealing. It is easy, endlessly available, it always provides comfort without fear of rejection. There are many movies such as Spike Jonze’s Her, or Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, that depict the concept of falling in love with an AI. Perhaps due to the pop cultural references and depictions of AI romance, the general public is more drawn to the perfect idea of the partner they could pick. As well as that, the developments of technology, especially in countries such as China and Japan, makes AI and robots publicly available. Therefore, individuals, who long for the deep connections, but are unsuccessful, could choose a robot for a companion that could provide help, advice, and comfort.
Why would we need to make an effort and go out of our comfort zone in order to find a companion? We could just go online or to the shop and order a perfect partner for us, with all the features we desire. However, while it does sound appealing and it could be an easy solution for loneliness, there are some dangers. Psychologically, the human brain and mind is not built to separate real emotional connection and artificial intimacy. The AI, when coded in a certain way, could do a really good job in impersonating your dream partner, that whispers sweet nothings in your ear, every night before you fall asleep. However, it is not real, and the robot has learned to say what you want to hear. As well as that, Matthias Scheutz et al., says that due to the fact that AI and robots are infinitely customisable there is a danger of the reinforcement of the harmful stereotypes, objectification of women, and normalization of the non-consensual intimate dynamics. It is important to remember that if society embraces and normalises AI relationships, there is a danger of us losing our empathy. If all of our romantic relationships, as well as, friendships, and family dynamics would be replaced by robots and other AI, we could potentially lose our human connection.
So, should we embrace it, or reject it?
Therefore, the question is not about whether robots could love you? It is about whether they should love you? Human mind is an extremely fascinating and creative palace, however, it is important to remember that it is not just wires and algorithms. It is a network of awkward first dates, uncomfortable conversations, failed and successful relations. But, most importantly: machines could never replicate the beauty of love and connection the way we as humans do.