ABSTRACT
Romance between a human and robot will pose many questions for the laws that apply to human-robot interaction and, in particular, family law. Such questions include whether humans and robots can marry and what a subsequent divorce might look like. This chapter considers these issues, organized to track the seasons of romantic relationships, such as cohabitation, engagement, and marriage. Given that marriage is no longer devoid of the possibility of divorce, this chapter also considers issues of property division, alimony, child custody, and child support when a marriage between a human and robot dissolves. Even for skeptics of such a future, given rapid advances in robotics, the applicability of family law to relationships between a human and robot is nonetheless an increasingly relevant thought experiment and intersects with other emerging areas of law, technology, and robotics.
Ryznar, Margaret, Robot Romance (July 1, 2023), in Cambridge Handbook on Law, Policy, and Regulations for Human-Robot Interaction, Forthcoming.
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