Marriage to robots is “inevitable”?

What Happens When Gender Does Not Matter: Researcher Predicts that Humans Will Wed Robots

In this generation we are experiencing a slow erosion of the definition of marriage.  Ultimately there are only two options: maintain the biblical definition that marriage is a spiritual union of one man and one woman or open the door to having "marriage" refer to every conceivable arrangement including same-sex, polygamistic, trans-species, and even trans-human.  Once the definition of marriage is unmoored from an unchanging anchor of truth, there is no limit to how far it will drift.  Consider:

On October 11 a British artificial intelligence researcher successfully defended a dissertation on human marriage to robots and will be awarded a doctorate degree from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.  "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners" by David Levy was based on 450 publications in fields such as psychology, sociology, robotics, materials science, artificial intelligence, and gender studies.

"My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize marriages with robots," said Levy.  He conjectures that robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them.

In 2006, Henrik Christensen, founder of the European Robotics Research Network, predicted that people will be having sex with robots within five years, and Levy thinks that's quite likely.  "It may sound a little weird, but it isn't," Levy said. "Love and sex with robots are inevitable."

"One hundred years ago, interracial marriage and same-sex marriages were illegal in the United States. Interracial marriage has been legal now for 50 years, and same-sex marriage is legal in some parts of the states," Levy said. "There has been this trend in marriage where each partner gets to make their own choice of who they want to be with."

"The question is not if this will happen, but when," Levy said. "I am convinced the answer is much earlier than you think."

Only Christians who are living as salt and light in this world can slow this erosion of truth. Complementarian and egalitarians together can agree that degrading the definition of marriage stands in opposition to the Word of God.  Even considering that a wife could be replaced by an animated object from the same electronic category as a laptop or cell phone is demeaning to women and dishonoring to God. My prayer is that believers would assert God's design for marriage with a confidence equal to that displayed by David Levy.