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There is a, perhaps somewhat childish, notion that love makes the world go round. Everybody exists, simply speaking, because of love. Your parents felt something for each other that forced itself to be expressed in a physical way, and this led to a new human: you.
Despite this, I rarely see love being discussed in an academic sense. Even the course given in Leiden, Philosophy of Love, mostly focuses on the effect of love on theories in different discourses (as do the theories that are being discussed, by great philosophers from Spinoza to Nietschze). In psychology, relationship counseling is a known form of discourse, but this seems to focus on fixing issues and keeping up an established baseline. Dorothy Tennov, when describing different forms of experiencing love, created the paradigm-shifting theory of limerence as late as the seventies(!)
And yet, love is often considered an absolute foundation for human experience. It's in every song, every sonnet, every other film in cinemas. It's a big part of growing up, and is considered a feeling unlike all others, without which life is not worth living.
Machines are often bullied for this in a way. 'What is this thing you call love, human?' is a standard imitation of robots, implying that their inability to feel this closeness is what separates them from their creators. Clearly (and who would disagree), love is a kind of innate indication of the soul to many (which would explain the hesitation to discuss it plainly).
There is an extra element to love and robots in contemporary society is the fact that sex robots are becoming, if not a reality, a more intensely discussed phenomenon now that they no longer seem pure science-fiction. But sex is not love, as many a teenager has to figure out eventually. The carnal aspect of robot love therefore seems to be devoid of romantic undercurrents, and can be engaged in guilt free. An element of exploitation quickly enters the mix in fiction in this regard.
The expression of love comes in many forms, and it is notable that love expressed by robots immediately gives them an air of reality and autonomy. Autonomy is the key word here, as the fact that a robot (the name is literally a Czech word for 'slave') can show autonomy means it breaks free from its created and conditioned design - and becomes, perhaps, something more.
Combining the idea of a 'sex robot', whose teleological reason for existence is to be an outlet for physical desire and who therefore has no autonomy to speak of, with a 'love robot', who has autonomy through its co-opting of a decidedly human (and little understood) quality, a love robot can perhaps add to the discussion on boundaries, norms, and sexual expression.
Teaching a robot emotional intelligence, as defined by the graph line above, might shed new light on discussions with regards to the needs, desires and boundaries of the other - sorely needed these days.
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