Previously an employee of Chinese multinational telecommunications firm Huawei, and now a builder of robots and an artificial intelligence practitioner, the 31-year-old Zheng recently “married” a robot that he had created for himself. The robot’s name is Yingying, and among her abilities are image-recognition tools for Chinese characters and pictures, as well as a vocabulary of a few basic words — presumably including “I do.” Now that they are man and robo-wife, Zheng plans to add some all-important upgrades, such as granting his newfound beloved the skill of walking and helping out with household chores.
The pair allegedly got married in a simple ceremony late last week, with Yingying dressed in black with a red scarf to cover her head.
The wedding was witnessed by Zheng’s mother and some of his friends. According to one of his friends, Zheng built the robot at the end of last year because he has been unable to find a human spouse.
As unlikely as the story sounds in some ways, this isn’t the only report of a robot wedding that we’ve come across. In 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court was busy legalizing same-sex marriage, 100 people gathered in Tokyo for the world’s robotic nuptials.
Admittedly, things were a little different in this case as both parties were of the robot persuasion — with the event organized by electronics accessories company Maywa Denki. Still, with more serious reports emerging about AI-equipped robot sex dolls, and some experts suggesting that robot-human romantic relationships will soon be a regular occurrence, maybe stories like Zheng and Yingying’s fairy tale romance won’t seem unusual for much longer.
