But that was back in 1948, long before Tamagotchi and Sony’s robotic dog AIBO recalibrated the objects of human affection. And desire. Long before artificial intelligence researcher and international chess master David Levy cast a randy eye on Furby and Tickle Me Elmo and began dreaming up all the lascivious possibilities. Because, according to Levy, within a decade or so robots will be so humanlike in their appearance, functionality and expression of emotions, that we’ll be falling in love with them, having sex with them and even marrying them–Defense of Marriage Act, ahem, permitting.

“It may sound a little weird, but it isn’t,” said Levy, who explores the idea at length in his Ph.D. thesis “Intimate Relationships With Artificial Partners,” concluding that “Love and sex with robots are inevitable.”

Levy argues that there are roughly a dozen basic reasons why people fall in love, and almost all of them could apply to human-robot relationships. “For instance,” he explains, “one thing that prompts people to fall in love are similarities in personality and knowledge, and all of this is programmable. Another reason people are more likely to fall in love is if they know the other person likes them, and that’s programmable too.”

Sounds like a possible new story arc for “Tell Me You Love Me” …

And what of the consummation vows and the marital bed? The human-robot sexual relationship? Silicone “love dolls” have already done some of the heavy lifting there. And there are folks hard at work developing the technology that may someday make coitus roboticus a real possibility. Consider this patent for “Simulated Human Interaction Systems”:

In a simplified form the mannequin or doll could be replaced with devices being artificial versions of human body parts used in sexual activities, for example artificial male or female genitalia as well as or replaced by devices for use in simulating oral sexual activities.

“Most preferably, however, the invention is applied using a mannequin or doll and preferably sensors are provided to be responsive to touch to various portions of the doll, whereby the control system can cause the visual output to correspond but in addition sensors responsive to movement, temperature and pressure and motion can be provided to initiate a physical reaction in the mannequin.”

(Above image courtesy Worth1000.com)

In an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that within days of setting up fake profiles for 12- to 14-year-old users, investigators “received numerous sexual solicitations from adults sent to several of the underage profiles.” Worse, when the investigators complained to the company, it often responded lethargically or failed to act at all. Which belies Facebook’s portrayal of itself as a safer alternative to MySpace.

“The OAG [Office of the Attorney General] is concerned that in Facebook’s efforts to grow, the company may be giving a lower priority to the safety and welfare of its users, and in particular, underage users,” Cuomo wrote. “To be clear, within the constraints of the law, Facebook has the right to operate any type of Web site it deems fit. However, it does not have the right to represent that its site is safe and that it promptly responds to complaints when such statements are not accurate.”

And so the New York AG’s office has subpoenaed information about Facebook’s safety and security measures. Which was apparently enough to rouse the company from its $15 billion valuation reveries.

“We take the concerns of the Office of the New York Attorney General very seriously,” said Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker. “As our service continues to grow, so does our responsibility to our users to empower them with the tools necessary to communicate efficiently and safely. We strive to uphold our high standards for privacy on Facebook and are constantly working on processes and technologies that will further improve safety and user control on the site. We are committed to working closely with all the state attorneys general to maintain a trusted environment for all Facebook users and to demonstrate the efficacy of these efforts.”