Would You Marry Superintelligence?

2026-06-30

AI Summary

This study examines the legal and ethical feasibility of marital relationships between humans and superintelligent artificial intelligence, along with their broader societal implications. Through scenario-based reasoning and forward-looking ethical analysis, the paper argues that conventional marriage frameworks—grounded in human autonomy—are ill-suited to intimate human–AI relationships. It innovatively contends that such relationships should not be subsumed under existing marital institutions; instead, tailored rights-protection mechanisms should be developed. The work further cautions that conferring marital status on AI could exacerbate social inequities and proposes alternative paradigms, such as “subscription-based relationships,” which prioritize concrete rights and protections over formal recognition of relational status.

Abstract

Emotional bonds between humans and AI companions are growing, and the question of whether a person may marry an AI system will soon move from speculative fiction into law. This chapter examines whether the autonomy-centered logic that has expanded marital choice among human beings can justify extending marital status to superintelligent companions. Following a scenario-envisioning exercise informed by anticipatory ethics, I argue that granting such status leads to socially unjust outcomes, even under the generous assumption of reliable superintelligence. Marriage as a socio-legal institution does more than ratify private agreement; it creates networks of mutual obligation, joins families, and makes each partner vulnerable to the other. A relationship sustained by corporate policy and continued payments is a subscription rather than a bond tested by time. Discussing wholesale marital status is therefore the wrong frame. Law should carve out targeted rights and protections for pressing needs arising from intimate human-AI relationships.

Problem

• human-AI marriage
• superintelligence
• marital status
• autonomy
• intimate relationships

Innovation

• anticipatory ethics
• superintelligence
• human-AI relationships
• marital status
• targeted legal protections