The Journal
Notes from the synthetic age
Reporting and argument on the machines learning to keep us company — the technology, the money, the ethics, and the very old human story underneath it all.
The U1 watch: from launch stage to living room
13,361 preorders, three trims, and a mid-September delivery promise. Our running log of UBTech's U1 — the claims, the dates, and what to watch when the first mass-produced lifelike companion meets its owners.
The honest state of the robot companion, mid-2026
A clear-eyed audit of the companion market as it really is in 2026 — three machines you can own, one you can reserve, and a great deal of fog.
Your companion is being built in pieces
The companion is no longer an invention problem. It's an integration problem — and that's a very different, much shorter race.
Can you love something you're leasing?
The body is a one-time purchase. The soul is $199.99 a month. That arrangement should give us pause.
From Galatea to Aria: a short history of the artificial lover
Pygmalion carved her. Villiers named her "android." RealDoll gave her silicone. The wish is ancient; only the engineering is new.
The briefing
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