Why can’t a LOVOT (or any construct) genuinely love or be loved?
Why can’t robots love or be loved?
Because we all intuitively understand that love requires choice. Anything forced to love someone doesn’t love at all, no matter how well it mimics the real thing. While we often turn to twisted versions of love because of our sinful desire for control, deep down, it’s evident that love requires someone else’s free choice.
Neuroscientist and relationship coach Bobbi Banks says, “[Robotic partners] would give people full control over their love life and it would allow them to create the ‘perfect partner’ but it would do more bad than good.” She says that not having a real, human relationship would make us unable to cope with life’s challenges and could lead to more depression (a trend we already see in a culture obsessed with a connection through media).
She continues, “What makes a relationship worth having is the human connection and learning to love each other despite our faults. We need to embrace the struggles in life and learn from the pain as that’s what makes us stronger and teaches us to be better.”
