Khaberni - Can life become more beautiful with a smart, obedient, very comfortable wife, and most importantly, skilled in doing what you want just by sensing your mood and reading your facial expressions before you even openly reveal what's on your mind?
The question is no longer mere wild imagination, but a logical result of the evolution of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, which has reached unprecedented levels that made some dream of a "robot wife" that provides all services to her husband including "intimate relationship".
Although the matter has not yet turned into a widespread phenomenon in the Arab world, the mere appearance of the idea in the public space has sparked a wave of serious and cautionary debate mingled with humor and wit.
The year 2017 witnessed the first case of this type of "union" in China between an artificial intelligence engineer who built a humanoid robot named "Ying Ying" and married her in a traditional ceremony attended by his mother and friends.
It was notable that the "bride" was able to recognize faces and utter simple words, while the "groom" justified his unusual choice with the "pressure from his family to marry quickly and his failure to find a human partner".
Last year, the robot "Aria" appeared as an American bride enticing her "destined partner" with realistic silicone skin and 17 motors in the face to simulate human expressions accurately, but the "groom" had to pay a "dowry" of $175,000, the price of her as a luxury product.
The market size for "companion robots" is estimated at about $1.43 billion in 2025, with expectations to reach $3.8 billion by 2032.
North America dominates 35.6% of the market, driven by demand for smart home care for the elderly and personal companionship.
On the other hand, experts and specialists warn that relying on a partner "programmed for permanent approval" may weaken the ability to deal with real humans, especially during natural conflicts.
Opponents fear that such relationships deepen isolation and lead to declining birth rates in modern societies.
From a legal standpoint, the reservation becomes more severe as marriage of this kind is "not permissible and not valid at all as it contradicts sound nature," as confirmed by Sheikh Mahmoud Habib, one of the scholars of Al-Azhar El-Sharif, who pointed out in special statements to "Erem News" that "religion does not object to technological advancements and using machines for daily tasks but not at all in such a matter."
He notes that "marriage is a lawful contract between a human man and woman, while a robot remains a machine and not a human soul, no matter its level of sophistication, and such a union does not achieve one of the major purposes of marriage itself which is the continuation of the human race and procreation."
On another note, the question imposes itself: Can a union with a machine, no matter how intelligent, involve some kind of psychological disorder?
We posed the question to Dr. Mahmoud Hindi, a consultant in mental health, who clearly explained that "individuals who tend to marry a robot certainly suffer from social isolation and severe psychological disorders that prevent them from naturally interacting with humans, driving them to interact with a machine to fulfill their desires and needs."
He mentioned that "if a person becomes accustomed to interacting with a machine, always agreeing with every request without will because it is programmed to do so, they will lose the ability to deal with real humans over time because they will not tolerate the idea of not immediately agreeing to what they want and complying without hesitation to everything that comes to mind and is spoken."
He also pointed out that "the problem will not stop there, as we will have a narcissistic person who cannot offer any concessions or effort to the other party, making communication with him exhausting and unattractive, being the party accustomed to control all the time."
