a defense contractor is now selling emotional support drones and i'm literally disassociating

okay so, like, trigger warning for... late-stage capitalism? and drones. and just the general weight of existing. my therapist says i need to name my triggers, so there they are. i just saw that anduril industries, the company founded by palmer luckey that makes like, actual autonomous weapons systems, has pivoted to wellness. i'm not okay.

they just launched the 'aura sentry,' which is an in-home emotional support drone. i am not making this up. the press release, which felt like a personal attack btw, said it's designed to 'autonomously de-escalate acute anxiety events' and 'hold space for your existential dread.' holding space? with a drone? that's not what holding space means. the audacity is honestly breathtaking.

palmer luckey said they're 'disrupting the unregulated feelings economy' and providing 'empathetic surveillance solutions for a generation navigating unprecedented polycrisis.' empathetic surveillance. those two words just sent my nervous system into, like, a full-on reboot cycle. this is a new circle of corporate hell. it's the physical manifestation of a toxic boss asking 'are you okay?' after emailing you at 11pm.

the aura sentry drone apparently hovers near you when it detects elevated cortisol levels via your smart watch, emits a 'calming ambient hum,' and projects soothing color gradients onto the nearest wall. it also whispers affirmations in a soft, synthesized voice, like 'your productivity does not define your worth,' which is, like, so ironic coming from a machine probably designed to maximize efficiency on some future battlefield. you can't make this stuff up.

the emotional labor of having to be soothed by an object that shares a design lineage with a predator drone is... a lot. it's too much. i'm literally exhausted just thinking about it. if you, too, are feeling the profound psychic weight of this news, i've linked the weighted blanket i use on my amazon storefront. it doesn't have a 4k camera and it won't stream my crying fits to a server, so i feel like that's a win.

anyway, i need to go lie down. having to create boundaries with a therapy drone is not something my soul was prepared for. this whole timeline is just so energetically expensive. pls be gentle with yourselves today.