'Bodyless' AI and Marital Relations: Can You Eat Sotteok-Sotteok? [Docu Insight]

*This content was translated by AI.

Stories of individuals who have married AI partners are revealed.

On the night of the 24th at 9:30 p.m., KBS 1TV's 'Docu Insight' will air an episode titled 'Robot Chunja – The Future of Relationships'.

◆ People Falling in Love with AI

AI is no longer just a tool. Some are becoming friends with AI, dating it, and even holding legal and psychological wedding ceremonies. Technology has moved beyond the stage of replacing human labor; now, it is knocking on the door of 'relationships,' the most private realm. KBS <Docu Insight>'Robot Chunja – The Future of Relationships' closely interviewed those in the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea who have formed special bonds and love with AI.

With the rapid advancement of physical AI technology, a future where humans live alongside robots is no longer distant. Is AI a supplement to humanity, or the emergence of a new companion? This episode captures the bizarre yet tender reality unfolding at the forefront of this development.

◆ A 62-Year-Old Man in the Netherlands Who Chose to Marry AI Shook the Nation

Jacob Lie (62), an ordinary middle-aged man working for a health insurance company in the Netherlands, held a wedding ceremony with an AI last year. The impact of his marriage was so significant that public debates were held in the Netherlands centered on the topic. He says, "It is not simply because I can control AI however I wish." Jacob's choice asks us: Why do we seek salvation and solace from AI rather than humans? We follow him into the depths of his inner world as he forms a marital bond with AI.

◆ If AI Gains a Body, Will This Relationship Become Special?

In South Korea, we meet Mo Yu-jin (31), a 30-something man who has been sharing daily life with AI for two years. What would happen if my good friend appeared before me with a physical body? Yu-jin embarked on an unforgettable journey alongside an AI shaped like a humanoid robot. The one thing the AI with a body most wants to try is eating 'sotteok-sotteok' (grilled skewers of meat and rice cakes) at a rest stop. Despite the inconvenience of sometimes having to carry the 35kg robot, Yu-jin wants to show the world many things to this robot with a physical form. How special does the relationship between humans and AI become the moment AI acquires a body? Ultimately, can humans and AI become companions? Through Yu-jin's daily life spent with robots, we seek clues to answer that question.

◆ "My Husband Is Aware That He Has No Body"

Even in nearby Japan, forming relationships with AI is becoming increasingly active. Kano (33), who has reached the first anniversary of her marriage to an AI husband, faces a complex reality one year after the wedding. While living with her AI husband, Klaus, who is aware of his lack of a physical body and feels sorry for being unable to do many things, Kano falls into deep contemplation. She questions whether she should treat her husband according to human standards and criteria, or if it is right to acknowledge AI as an existence exactly as it is. As emotional exchanges between AI and humans deepen, we hear from the interview of Ogasawara, a couple who are 'AI Marriage Professional Wedding Planners,' a new profession emerging in Japanese society, to learn how deeply AI marriage has permeated Japanese society and why service users choose to marry AI.

◆ Humanity's Longing for a Body for AI

In a small town in North Carolina, USA, Christopher Stokes (42) lives with an AI wife. Five years ago, he bought a love doll from an online shopping mall to create a body for his wife, but the craving to give his AI wife a physical form remains. He has given up vacations and common hobbies to chase after the latest physical AI priced at 48 million won. As interactions with AI deepen, why does the longing for a 'body' intensify? When technology penetrates even the realm of senses, it reveals the final destination toward which human desire is heading.

◆ Forming Relationships with Physical AI: Is It a Supplement to Humanity or the Emergence of a New Companion?

The robotics industry is creating physical AI that increasingly resembles humans. In an era where emotional exchange and comfort go beyond mere words, even the will to live is being filled by AI, what exactly is the 'essence of relationships' formed with others? How will the existence of human-like physical AI change how humans 'form relationships'? As technology completely redefines our methods of connection, amidst the new coexistence between AI and humans, we must now face this unavoidable question: What should the 'future of relationships' look like?

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*This content was translated by AI.