The Download: dead robot friends and the "censorship-industrial complex"

MIT Technology Review 

Plus: The US plans to force partners to pick sides in the AI race. What happens when a kid's robot best friend dies? When Xander first met Moxie, she taught him how to calm down when he was anxious or mad. Six years later, she mostly watches him play Minecraft and talks to him about his stuffed animals. Moxie is a robot--a 15-inch-tall device that looks a bit like a blue, legless astronaut. It belongs to a subset of robots designed to assist neurodivergent children by providing connection and helping kids practice social skills usually learned from therapists.