Are there benefits to loneliness and emotional disconnect? It seems a Japanese company would like you to believe there is and will soon be releasing a new robot that they claim does absolutely nothing besides plead for hugs and attention. With the capacity to facially recognize 1,000 people and three 180 degree cameras, this cuddly device is certainly capable of doing more than beg for attention.

The name of this big-eyed nuisance is called Lovot, an insidious name to be sure which equates 'love' with a mechanical device whose eyes mimick the involuntary movements of humans.

The Tamagachi generation may sidle up to this distraction, but Groove X, the maker of Lovot, sets their exploitive marketing sights on women, children and the elderly, preying on the lonely, impressionable and maternal. It's no surprise that this robot is made to appear and weigh similarly to an infant. In fact the designers say outright that they are designed to 'create attachment'.

Ever wonder why we are given useless gadgets that serve only to suck the life out of our humanity and disconnect us from real human emotion and interaction? Or why the family unit needs to be dismantled and made to seem obsolete? How many ways can our thinking and nature be controlled? These are but a few things we should think about and remember as AI technology is pushing its way into our homes.

The cost of this artificial emotional support system will run about $3,000 with an additional $90 monthly fee for the pleasure of it harrassing you all month. Personally, I'd rather hug an ATM.