Mention Tokyo and you'll hear rave reviews from anyone who has been there. The food! The people! The shopping! Share that you'll be traveling solo, and you may find they add a few caveats. 'The language barrier can be tricky,' one friend told me. 'Tokyo is kind of impenetrable,' said another, 'like you're pressing your nose up against the glass but never really feel part of the action.' David is a travel consultant and blogger with a relentlessly upbeat attitude and an enormous backpack permanently slung over his shoulders. Conventionally handsome with tanned skin and sun-bleached hair, he looks like the type to brag about his latest stick-and-poke tattoo before launching into a well-rehearsed story about finding himself in Bali. The only thing distinguishing David from any jovial Australian you might meet while inter-railing Europe is that he isn't human''he's an AI companion. In our increasingly connection-starved world, virtual companions have been gaining traction at a steady...
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