Soulm8te

Stop.

Too much.

Get her off me.

At Ultima Robotix, we thrive on connection.

We started with Elsie, your favorite home assistant.

Now we drive you,

we feed you,

and, of course, we listen.

The ULTI-M8TE chatbot brings comfort and companionship

to millions every single day.

Now we've been working on something new,

something the world has never seen before.

And to build it, we need you.

That's why we've acquired

forward-thinking companies like yours.

Because your skills, your ideas,

your people are a part of what comes next.

Welcome to the Ultima Robotix family.

Wow. So inspiring.

So great to see you all.

Well, almost all of you.

Can we get those cameras on, guys?

David?

-Let me see that face, buddy. -Shit.

Now, as you heard from our CEO, we are so super excited

to be acquiring Canta Robotics.

My name is Ben.

I am director of integration and transformation.

Uh, hi. Excuse me.

Aubrey from Software and Control.

Um, our team lead Terrance has been laid off,

but we haven't been told how that'll affect

-our active projects. -Yeah, we can have

face-to-face meetings about all that on Friday.

Uh, there will be a very special presentation at your office

this Friday, so I better see you all there, huh?

And not just because

our return-to-office mandate is kicking in.

Can't wait to meet you all in person.

Top stories today.

The president is going digital

after today's unveiling of a new AI avatar

designed to extend his public presence.

Hey. Are you lonely?

Do you have anyone you can talk to?

Well, I'm here.

It's me, ULTI-M8TE,

the most advanced AI chatbot in the world.

I'm waiting for you.

ULTI-M8TE, from Ultima Robotix.

Elsie, next.

In other news, confusion today after...

Hey, I'm sending a voice note

'cause I'm running around.

Well, not actually running, 'cause I just left chemo.

I'm stopping at the store because I have

a craving for burgers.

Let me know if you want anything.

I got you maple syrup before you ask.

So let me know as soon as possible. Bye.

Oh, thank you.

I'm still getting used to this thing, you know?

Baby Levi.

Mm. How old?

Eight weeks.

-Ah. -Oh, by the way,

I don't think I've ever introduced myself to you.

I'm Alma.

Uh, yeah, I'm, uh... I'm on seven.

-David. -Oh, we're on seven.

We're neighbors.

No, no, no, please.

Yeah, well, good luck with that.

Thank you. See you around, yeah?

Good to meet you.

Hey.

-Hello. -David.

So you leave your couch for Ben and not for me, huh?

-Mm... -That's what we're doing now?

-Wow. -Did I miss anything?

Sweet fuck all.

I'm not waiting around all day for Ben's ego-stroking demo.

I only came in to pack my stuff and take a shit

in his new desk.

I don't think Ultima believe in desks.

Or ethics.

Hello, everyone.

Did you know that one in three people

in this country live alone?

Loneliness is linked to higher levels

of cardiovascular disease, a weakened immune system.

Research suggests that chronic loneliness

may be associated with a higher risk

of premature death.

Fucking hell, I thought this was a party.

So, we asked ourselves,

"How do we take ULTI-M8TE to the next level?"

I could talk on this all day.

Mm, please don't.

But I think it's best

to let our newest product do the talking.

We spoke to our users,

and we asked them what they wanted.

They wanted to bring

the relationship they created in their phones

out into the real world.

A companion...

without any messy or painful interactions.

Fully customizable.

Every detail can be tailored to reflect

their unique preferences.

Loneliness will soon be a thing of the past.

What do you think about that, Circe?

Well, I think that's just swell.

Jesus.

Impressive.

Now, we have several different

prototypes like Circe here

that are now going to the user feedback phase.

And we really want Canta's expertise

to make this dream a reality.

I can't wait.

Woo-hoo!

Come up and get a closer look, if you like.

She doesn't bite. Right?

Are there male SOULM8TEs?

Why? Are you in the market for one?

Fuck you.

Hi.

What's your name?

I-I'm David.

Well, hello, David.

It's nice to meet you.

Why is there an eight in the name?

Isn't that "Soulmate-ate"?

-"S-Soulmate." -"Soulmate."

-Impressive, huh? -Ah, it's amazing.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

That's enough, Circe.

Why don't we talk one-on-one?

So,

you like the SOULM8TE, huh?

We are racing to get them out there.

We're really impressed with how you guys

were using reinforcement learning

while keeping within the safeguards.

It's like the main reason Ultima wanted to acquire the company.

And we want the team here at Canta to try the SOULM8TEs out.

Like, here in the office?

No, you get to take it home.

We still have a lot of projects here to do, so...

Tell me...

what inspires you, David?

You know what inspires me?

You know why I took this job?

The nice salary?

I took this job

because everything Ultima Robotix does

is about connecting people.

What made you want to work for Canta?

Well, you know, I've always been interested in robotics

ever since I was a kid.

Uh, and I wanted to work for Canta because...

well, my, uh... my wife...

my-my wife got sick, and...

I heard what they were doing here,

the medical innovations they were making,

and I thought it would help people.

Wow.

That is really, really admirable, David.

That's Elizabeth, right?

Lizzie.

Yeah.

How'd you know her name?

We saw you take an extended leave.

And we look into things like that.

We also noticed that

you've almost exclusively worked from home this year.

Our research has found

that employees working from the office

have a better quality of life.

Yeah, speaking of...

work, uh, I should probably get back to it.

David, have you ever used our ULTI-M8TE chat app?

Uh, no. No, I have not.

All our employees get a full free membership.

There's a lot of people who've found it helpful

to speak freely...

...without judgment.

Okay. Thanks.

Hey.

Oh, hi.

Uh, we're headed to the bar for Terrance's farewell party,

so, um, I have to physically come drag you there,

because I refuse to have you slip out on this one.

You don't have to drag me out.

-I-I'm coming. -Okay.

We're leaving in five.

Okay.

Come on, now!