Will there be a robot lover in 2050?

The romantic relationship between humans and robots will no longer be science fiction that can become reality in four decades.

David Levy, author of the popular love robot book, told the press:

'I'm talking about love relationships in the next 40 years ... when the robot comes out with emotion, personality and consciousness. They can talk to you, make you laugh. They may say they love you like a human saying 'I love you' ... '.

Levy also predicts that robots that meet human sexual needs will appear in the market within five years. However, according to Levy, turning a robot into a lover really takes much longer.

Levy asserts that scientists are in the process of creating emotion, personality, artificial intelligence and some robots that have similar characteristics. Levy, however, said the love affair was a completely different field, and that the biggest barrier for scientists was to create a 'mental skill' for the robot.

British scholar Dylan Evans opposes Levy's view that love is a voluntary and immortal love. 'The robot can not choose you, you can not refuse it so things can get very boring,' said scholar Evans.

Asimo robot. (Photo: www.plasticbamboo.com)

Mr. Evans further explained that robots could be programmed to reject human emotions, but it would be difficult to sell them. Vincent Wiegel, a researcher at the University of Technology in Delft, said: "Today, the artificial intelligence that we can create is only comparable to the child. 1 year old'.

However, Levy insists the robot lover will appear and predict many of the social benefits that it will bring. 'There are millions of people living alone. They may be embarrassed, have psychological problems, or have bad looks ... There are millions of other people who are not happy with their relationship ... and have the option of being a robot, " Levy said.