It may seem strange to have an affection for non-living things, but it seems to be gaining acceptance with artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
I think we are a long way from robots taking control, but when my wife starts to nag, I become a bit jealous of men who opt for alluring humanoid robots I see advertised on the internet.
I’m not really into robotic women but I do have a touch of objectophilia with my HVAC system. My feelings are more like a nurturing parent to it because I babied it after it was installed several years ago. I had it cleaned and maintained four times each year by a qualified HVAC technician instead of the recommended twice-yearly cleanings. I changed the filters every month even though they still looked like new. My pampering seemed to work as I rarely had any issues with it, and it kept my wife and me warm during the cold seasons and cool in the hot seasons. It was never a “problem” child until it became a teenager a few years ago. It became noisy and rebellious making strange sounds that reminded me of how real kids act when they reach their teens. It’s also becoming less efficient and more expensive like most teenagers. I’ll stick with my HVAC unit for a few years more because by then it will be over 18 years old and ready to leave home as a pile of scrap metal. I can bring a new “baby” home from the HVAC “nursery”, our local heating and AC store. By then, I will have decided whether to paint the little closet where the central unit sits either pink for a girl HVAC unit or blue for a boy.