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 claimed orders, three trims, deliveries UBTech says have begun and a target it has cut. Our running log of UBTech's U1: the claims, the dates, and what to watch as the first mass-produced lifelike companion meets its owners.
The Honest State of the Robot Companion, June 2026
A clear-eyed audit of the companion market as it really is in 2026: two companions you can own, a helper you can preorder, 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
The future of companionship, in your inbox
One careful dispatch a month: every price change, ship-date slip and new machine we log — plus the milestones that actually matter. No hype, no spam.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.