It has been found that horses alone in their stalls are often comforted by the presence of a mirror, since they perceive there to be another horse with them that is very much like them, in appearance and temperament. Humans are not so easily fooled, but in the future we may have an analogous option available in the form of robot mates. It seems that our future mates may be "mirrors" of ourselves, in the guise of AI companions that speak to us and/or that embody robots that are tailored to share our interests, to laugh at our jokes, and to give us just the right amount of disagreement that we won't so they don't seem annoyingly sycophantic. With robot bodies of sufficient verisimilitude, it seems possible for them to be able to cross the uncanny valley and for us even to be sexually attracted to their forms, who have the further advantages of remaining forever young and healthy. So, our descendants, unless they carry the banner of Ludd, will pair off with robots instead of with each other. Reproduction can still take place via artificial insemination.

Many today might find this picture of the future dystopian. But think of how many features of our modern world - such as drones, surveillance, childhood obesity, spam - that might seem dystopian to an audience from years past. Perhaps this will seem completely normal to us by the time it becomes possible.