The era of celebrities befriending robots has begun

Movies like Her (2013) and Ex Machina (2005) had predicted it, as had even a "futurologist" who famously forecasted, in 2016, that by 2025 robots would engage in more sex with robots than with humans: we are witnessing the entry of robots into people's homes. Not just any people, mind you, but celebrities and a few wealthy individuals who haven’t yet posted about their new travel companions on social media. Tesla’s CEO and now government figure Elon Musk launched the latest version of his humanoid robots Optimus last October at the We, Robot event in California. Musk’s company’s latest project can prepare and serve drinks, dance, sing “Happy Birthday to You,” and play rock-paper-scissors. Priced between $20,000 and $30,000, some Silicon Valley residents have already shared their first moments with their new lover-butlers online: Kim Kardashian. First, the star of The Kardashians posted an image of her Tesla robot in the garden, followed by a photo where she interlaces her fingers with the mechanical, silver fingers of this so-called “new friend.”

Kim Kardashian is not the only celebrity to have experienced the thrill of a y3K lifestyle: Kai Cenat, a Twitch streamer with 12 million followers, introduced his new personal assistant robot last month. In videos shared by the content creator, the robot reportedly acts as a substitute for remote collaborators, managed via a remote control – which even allowed it to learn to smash TVs and perform other antics to entertain the streamer’s subscribers. Will this truly be the cybernetic future we’ve heard so much about in films, books, and TV shows predicting an idyllic world where even simple tasks like sweeping the floor are automated, or a dystopian one where machines take over humanity? So far, we only know what Tesla’s robots can do by following their human owners’ orders. Who knows what the future holds for these little metallic friends—will they fulfill their destiny as butlers and personal assistants, or as foreseen by futurologists and hinted at in Kim Kardashian’s latest images, will they truly become the preferred lovers of the new millennium?