Human-Robot Personal Relationships

This collection of academic papers from the 2010 International Conference on Human-Robot Personal Relationships provides a fascinating snapshot of early research into how people form emotional bonds with artificial partners. The 16 revised papers, plus invited contributions, explore everything from the formation of these relationships to their psychological consequences, offering a comprehensive look at human-robot interaction before social robots became commonplace. These studies examine the fundamental questions of how and why we connect with machines, making this volume essential reading for understanding the foundations of modern human-AI relationships.

What makes this compilation particularly valuable is its historical perspective on a field that has since exploded in relevance, capturing the academic mindset when personal robots were more theoretical than practical. Students of robotics, psychology, and technology ethics will find these early investigations surprisingly prescient, as many of the ethical dilemmas and psychological dynamics identified here have only intensified with advances in AI companionship. The papers collectively serve as a crucial baseline for measuring how far we've come in understanding human-machine bonding, while revealing how many foundational questions remain unanswered.