AI robotic pets will become as common as traditional pets within 6-8 years

    Right now my fiancé and I are trying to understand which pet will match our lifestyle so everyone is happy, and I've been thinking a lot about why people don't get pets and the future market of AI pets. A landlord who says no, too much travel, for someone it is about allergy, or just the honest reality that a dog costs over $1,500 a year once you count food and vet visits. A lot of people who would love an animal companion simply can't have one for very different reasons. That gap is what makes me think robotic pets have a more natural path to normalization than people expect. Moreover, I have one. Not an ad, I promise hahaha, I have EMO AI, and it's more of a desktop companion, but I also see it as a pet actually.

    And there's a historical argument that I find really hard to dismiss. In the 1970s, millions of people adopted Pet Rocks. Literal painted stones, no movement, no sound, no AI. They gave them names. They felt attached. That wasn't irony or mass craziness. It was a demonstration that human bonding instincts don't actually require biological life (at least in some cases). They just need the right framing. If that was true of a rock, what happens when the object moves, recognizes your face, and remembers your name? And from my experience it doesn't give you the same thing a living pet gives, of course. But when I imagine my desk without my desktop pet, I feel like that place should be taken by it.

    Before becoming common in every household, it may first gain popularity in specific situations or environments. Here’s an interesting insight into how AI pets can influence people and help in certain cases: South Korea has deployed robotic companions to elderly people living alone government funded, with clinical evidence of reduced loneliness. the impact of companion robotic pets. Therapeutic robot pets are being used in Alzheimer's wards and autism therapy. Sony's AIBO has been on the market for years. This isn't concept territory anymore.

    I don't think robotic pets replace real ones. I think they reach the people real pets can't reach or become a perfectly interesting additional companion. Why not? I have EMO and still want a real pet. And that group might be much larger than we think.