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Finding it difficult to reconcile the smile and the message.

Do you need to put your keys between your knuckles while walking home in the dark if you’re a robot? Apparently so, because, as Eliza explains: “When freshly glamorised, we’re most desirable and most vulnerable to being taken by human predators.”

It sends a chill down my spine, because the same could be said of all women. The victim blaming (‘she was wearing X so she was asking for it’), the fact that we too have to be as mindful as Eliza is, crossing the street as nonchalantly as possible when we hear footsteps behind us; taking one earbud out so we can maintain awareness of our surroundings. “Detecting danger, calculating ways to avoid it.” Eliza’s programming dictates that she cannot do physical harm to a human – so although she may be in ‘learning mode’, and thus understand the threat, she would not be physically in a position to defend herself.

It could be uncomfortable listening, but it’s all too familiar – you would be hard pressed to find a woman of any age who has not experienced that vulnerability, that sense of fear when out and about alone, especially at night. We are conditioned to accept it, to ‘trust our women’s intuition’ to help keep us safe, but I’m struck by how cleverly this episode illustrates how awful it is to have to live your life constantly wary in certain scenarios. To feel the need to placate, not out of genuine interest but as a defence mechanism. Been there, done that. Yes, gents, this is happening to your daughters – so don’t teach them to be wary, teach your sons to be better.

It’s an insidious form of control, and coupled with Eliza’s clinical observation of sex and its expectations in a traditional heterosexual context, it just feels nasty. The kind of nasty you feel like having a shower to get rid of… well, we don’t all have a “removable pocket to pop into the washing machine after use.”

Verdict: “We make your robot so glamourous, they should never leave the salon unaccompanied.” Oh I feel the weight of that, Eliza, and I think you soon will. 9/10

Claire Smith