Artificial Lovers: A Quarter of Young People Would Date Robots

May 26, 2016

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As technology advances, so does the realm of dating.

A British survey on how people feel about the future was conducted by ComRes in the lead up to FutureFest, a festival of future ideas. Up to 1,002 British adults were interviewed online.

Of these adults, a quarter of young people aged 18 to 34 said they would date a robot if they could, one, ensure a perfect match, and, two, not tell the difference between dating a robot and a human. 16% of adults aged 35 to 54 said they would also date a robot, whilst only 10% of adults over 55 also agreed.

“Our bodies, our identities, and our senses are enhancing thanks to technology and societal shifts,” said Ghislaine Boddington, curator of Future Love at FutureFest.

DNA dating

In the same survey, participants were asked if they would agree to use DNA matching or pheromone matching to help find a suitable partner in the future, along the same lines as people use today’s dating apps like Tinder or Happn.

A third of young people (31%) said they would use the described matching services to find a partner in the future. One in five adults (22%) aged 35 to 54 would also use the personalized matching services, and one one in ten (11%) adults over 55 would give it a go as well.

Image source: Geralt

Jasmine van den Hoek

Jasmine Van Den Hoek is the Communications Officer of South Eastern Melbourne PHN. She creates and publishes weekly and fortnightly newsletters. In addition, she oversees website management and communications as part of the strategic relations team. Jasmine also served a similar role for Central Grampians LLEN and VicLLENS.

From 2016 to 2017, she wrote articles for Future of Sex firstly as a junior writer, and later, as a senior writer. She focused on various topics – ranging from safe sex through technology, feminist VR porn, and wearable sex tech.

Jasmine earned her Certificate IV for Professional Writing and Editing from Federation University Australia and her Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing as well as Creative Writing from University of Ballarat. She then studied and graduated from Federation University of Australia - Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Film.