By Conor Grant

This is an edition of The Future of Everything newsletter, a look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play. If you're not subscribed, sign up here .

At this week's The Future of Everything conference -- the Journal's flagship live event -- the inventor of the Roomba unveiled his next chapter: a soft, four-legged robot that's designed to form an emotional bond with its owner.

This week, Christopher Mims reports on Familiar Machines & Magic, a startup led by former iRobot chief Colin Angle that is developing emotionally intelligent robot companions. (See more coverage from the event below.)

Angle and his team call their first product the Familiar -- the term witches use for their supernatural animal companions. It's meant to be first in a new category of emotionally intelligent robots, trained to respond appropriately to our tone of voice and body language.

In the short term, Familiar Machines plans to market its products to people who want to monitor loved ones, such as aging parents. Further along, the company hopes to license its emotionally intelligent AI to other companies.

The Familiar unveiled at the event is still an early prototype, so Angle isn't disclosing its price or availability, or even how much the final product will resemble its current look.

More on this topic:

   -- They loved their Roomba like a pet. Then it lost its way. (Read) 
 
   -- How China's military robots learn from animals. (Read) 
 
   -- Disney's robotic droids are the toast of Silicon Valley. (Read) 

🤔 What do you think about the Familiar and other companion robots? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions at future@wsj.com (if you're reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply).

🎥 Videos: Other Highlights From The Future of Everything Event

Amazon's next act: delivering from outer space. Amazon Devices, Alexa and Leo Senior Vice President Panos Panay discussed the company's evolving hardware and satellite strategies, including wearable devices, Alexa Plus and its satellite internet service, Leo.

Barry Diller spoke about the intersection of entertainment and technology. The legendary broadcaster broke down the state of the entertainment industry, including AI's impact on creators, the streaming wars and the political obstacles businesses are now facing.

Meet the guys in charge of redesigning America's digital infrastructure. Joe Gebbia, an Airbnb co-founder and the U.S. Chief Design Officer, and design pioneer Peter Arnell described their work with the National Design Studio, a newly formed federal effort to modernize the U.S. government's digital infrastructure.

This space architecture lab is trying to build the future in zero gravity. Ariel Ekblaw, CEO of the Aurelia Institute, spoke about how self-assembling structures could make orbiting research habitats a reality, unlocking scientific and medical breakthroughs that only the weightless environment of space can deliver.

Future Feedback

Last week, we reported on the driverless taxi companies racing to launch their services across the U.S. Readers shared their thoughts on the expansion of the robotaxi industry:

   -- "I love robotaxis. I took my first ride in a Waymo in San Francisco last 
      year and can't wait until they're deployed in Philadelphia. There's no 
      awkwardness about interacting with the driver, no need to tip, etc. I'm 
      sure there will be hiccups along the way, but I'm willing to allow for 
      them to resolve. I'm also very psyched about the future of self-driving 
      cars, especially for expanding the independence of older drivers who can 
      no longer safely drive on their own." -- Pamela Dalton, Pennsylvania 
 
   -- "I strongly feel this is unnecessary innovation. If, hypothetically, you 
      created a robotaxi with computer vision comparable to that of a person, 
      there are still many more aspects to having a taxi/bus driver than 'radar 
      sense.' Human intuition and good judgment currently cannot be coded into 
      a computer. I could accept better AI-powered driving assistance, but 
      completely replacing the human element here is not prudent. I'd prefer 
      the invisible hand of capitalism to work someplace else." -- Jorge 
      Martinez, Puerto Rico 
 
   -- "At 78, I only drive 1,000 miles a year. If Cincinnati had robotaxis, I 
      could sell my car, cancel my insurance and enjoy the ride! A 
      win-win-win." -- Tom Clark, Ohio 
 
   -- "I'm a ride-share driver in New York City. I recently purchased a 2026 
      Tesla Model Y Standard to replace my aging 2016 Tesla Model X. I had the 
      full self-driving $(FSD)$ feature transferred to the new vehicle. I have 
      basically grown with FSD to see its improvements over the years. I kid 
      you not, about 95% of the time I have FSD picking up and dropping off 
      passengers. I had a white-collar fella with a British accent say to me: 
      'So, you decided to not drive today?' And I answered: 'I haven't driven 
      since getting the car back in February.'" -- Stavros Leodis, New York 

(Responses have been condensed and edited.)

Elsewhere in the Future

   -- The balcony solar boom is coming to the U.S. (MIT Technology Review) 
 
   -- A study observed AI replicate itself. (The Guardian) 
 
   -- A hacker ran me over with a robot lawn mower. (The Verge) 

About Us

Thanks for reading The Future of Everything. We cover the innovation and tech transforming the way we live, work and play. This newsletter was written by Conor Grant. Get in touch with us at future@wsj.com. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.

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May 08, 2026 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)

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