I Visited a High-Tech Spa and Got an AI Robot Massage; Won’t Return

My 3D body was still on-screen, now with two orb-like icons tracking the robot’s movements. Alongside it were options to adjust intensity, pause, or stop. The interface walked me through each moment: what part of my body it was working on, what technique it was using (lengthening, relaxing), and for how long.

Naturally, I started exploring. I found options to change visuals and music, which turned my massage into a dissociation session on the tablet. The playlists covered everything: hip hop, chill EDM, indie rock, rain sounds, and even Brat Radio. The ability to skip songs was intoxicating, thus prompting my eventual foray into “Coconuts” by Kim Petras.

The room was dimmed, but I got to choose my visuals on the tablet, such as sticking with the 3D scan or switching to rainfall, snowfall, rippling water, or just a plain black screen. By then, the novelty had faded, so I tried to mimic the ambiance of a typical massage by putting on relaxing music and the black screen.