Enchanting Robots, 1st ed. 2019
Intimacy, Magic, and Technology
Social and Cultural Studies of Robots and AI Series

This book argues that robots are enchanting humans (as potential intimate partners), because humans are enchanting robots (by performing magical thinking), and that these processes are a part of a significant re-enchantment of the ?modern? world. As a foundation, the author examines arguments for and against intimate relationships with robots, particularly sex robots and care robots. Moreover, the book provides a consideration of human-robot interactions and philosophical reflections about robots through the lens of magic and magical thinking as well as theoretical and practical re-evaluations of their status and presence. Furthermore, the author discusses the abovementioned issues in the context of disenchantment and re-enchantment of the world, characterizing modernity as a coexistence of these two processes. The book closes with a consideration of future scenarios regarding the meaning of life in the age of rampant automation and the possibility that designing robots becomes a sortof new eugenics as a consequence of recognizing robots as persons.

Chapter ​1. Introduction - Chapter 2. Robots Enchanting Humans - Chapter 3. Humans Enchanting Robots - Chapter 4. Disenchanting and Re-enchanting in Modernity - Chapter 5. In Lieu of a Conclusion: Where Will We Go from Here?

Connects an examination of human-robot interactions with larger considerations of modernity and 21st century technology Demonstrates the importance of actively questioning how technology changes the intimate relationships of humans Examines human interactions with robots through the lens of magical thinking and enchantment