Helen O'Loy

I recently read the short science fiction story "Helen O'Loy" written by Lester del Rey in 1938.  It was part of a science fiction anthology I've been reading.

Helen O'Roy

Helen O'Roy is about a robot designed to look like a female human being that lives with two male humans.  One of the male humans finds the robot falling in love with him and he moves away. only to move back and fall in love with the robot  It's a story of how humans interact with robots that are life like.  It's very interesting this was written in 1938 and foreshadows something that is not all that far off in today's future.  There are already robots that are somewhat life like and it is not far fetched at all to see humans falling in love with their robot companions.  

The robot-human relationship, in regards to physical and mental attraction, is one society will soon have to face.  It may still be several decades away, but it is a coming problem.  What does this mean for human-human relationships.  Can one human divorce another human and marry a robot?  What sort of rights will the robot have?  What will this mean for reproduction rates on the planet?  Will more people fall in love and live with robots because they are cheaper than living and falling in love with a human?  Will human-robot relationships become a norm?  Interesting questions that don't have easy answers.  What I can tell you, however, is that tossing away these questions as ridiculous will only harm a society that inevitably will have to face and answer them.