Rob Brooks

Rob Brooks is the Scientia Professor of Evolution at UNSW in Sydney and the author of Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers and Algorithmic Matchmakers

4 Posts

Man in black shirt sitting on a chair alone in lamp light. He's on his phone. He looks lonely.

My Friend the Chatbot

Virtual friends are already good enough to engage us and satisfy some of our appetites. They are going to get better, spread into more corners of our lives, and settle in.

Rob Brooks

26 Nov 2024 · 10 min read

The Tragedy of the Unwanted Child: What Ancient Cultures Did Before Abortion

Safe abortion is the modern cure for the ancient heartbreaks of neonaticide and abandonment.

Rob Brooks

24 Jun 2022 · 13 min read

Diamonds Aren't Forever (And Neither is Your Love)

Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world. ~Pliny The Elder Loving someone, and having them love you back, is the most precious thing in the world. ~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook At age 11, I first glimpsed the bewildering anthropologic spectacle

Rob Brooks

17 Feb 2022 · 14 min read

Involuntarily Celibate: Explanations and Practical Solutions to a Dangerous Phenomenon

The overall picture from our results is that places where local conditions make it harder than usual for young men to establish themselves as attractive mating prospects tend also to be places where online Incel action is more common.

Rob Brooks

20 Jan 2022 · 6 min read