I don't care if you marry your toaster...
...but if you do, Sweden should not be the dreamy wedding destination of your choice.
Watching a very unpalatable US politician saying ridiculous things about gay people a few days ago reminded me of a weird piece of news from my own neck of the woods - Sweden. It’s a nice place to visit, but if you plan to marry your toaster, Sweden should not be the dreamy wedding destination of your choice. The Swedish Church has announced that it is a church for people, not AI:s or machines. So, they will not be performing any robosexual marriages. Good to know.
As far as I know, there is no big push from people who want to marry their robot partners, but I guess the Swedish Church wants to be one step ahead and not rush the issue. After all, they needed a full thousand years to adjust before they finally felt comfortable marrying same-sex couples in 2009. I bet it will be another couple of thousand years before they will be ready to reconsider their stand on robosexual marriages.
Sadly, it’s unlikely that I will be around for that. Unlikely, because I will be dead. Sad, not because I want to marry a robot, but because I find cringe-worthy debates with increasingly crazy arguments entertaining. My wife says it’s an odd trait. I say it’s an endearing trait. She says: “Hmph!”
I can already imagine the future debate on robosexual marriages. It will be glorious! Concerned citizens will urge everybody to “Please, think of the children!” There will be demands that we all stop marrying our toasters or any other hot household appliance that they think tickles our fancy. I bet at least one of the most vehement detractors will be caught red-handed sous viding his sausage before it’s all over. After all, that’s how these things always go.
Before equal marriage was legalised in Sweden, there was a fair bit of fearmongering about slippery slopes and the supposedly genuine danger of everyone suddenly wanting to marry their poor, unsuspecting goats. That never happened. Of course.
But fear not. Neither you nor I will be missing out. Thanks to Futurama, we can all glimpse into the future and engage in the hottest social debate of the year 3000. Enjoy!