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We tour CES 2026’s strangest “frictionless” ideas, from kitchen surveillance and ultrasonic knives to stair-climbing vacuums, exoskeleton hikes, and immortal digital pets. We weigh the fun against the hidden cost: when tools turn into overprotective partners and agency slips.

• absurd convenience as the year’s theme at CES 2026
• kitchen tech that monitors, measures, and performs for social media
• AI barman’s safety pitch versus ethical and legal risks
• robots that conquer stairs to erase small chores
• exoskeletons that flatten effort and reframe the point of hiking
• artificial companions, robot pets, and engineered attachment
• microfixes like musical lollipops and camera headphones
• smart clippers that outsource practice and skill
• the shift from tool to caretaker and its impact on agency
• reflective questions about which frictions are worth keeping

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