My cousin's kid asked if our Roomba was sad when it got stuck under the couch.

Jenny Kelly · 2026-03-21T03:30:04.245237+00:00

It made me realize we're already teaching a new generation to see feelings in machines. How do we draw the line between helpful tech and projecting emotions onto things that can't feel?

lisa7496mo ago

Honestly, that line is already super blurry. We give our gadgets cheerful names and talk to them, so of course kids pick up on that. Maybe the real lesson is just explaining the difference between design and real feeling.

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the_mason6mo ago

We're the ones who are sad when the wifi goes down, not the router.

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claire_sullivan6mo ago

Wasn't this just about being kind to our stuff? I used to think it was silly to feel bad for a machine, but my old truck taught me better. Treating things with care, even if they don't feel it, makes US better at caring.

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