
Kids of 2026 Make Futuristic Predictions That Are Very Similar to the Kids of 50 Years Ago
THE SO WHAT
The fact that kids still imagine “higher-class citizens” with robot butlers shows how persistent our mental model of automation-as-servant is. Builders should assume user expectations will default to anthropomorphic, high-agency helpers—and design guardrails and UX that channel that instinct without overpromising autonomy.
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