The Tamagotchi, launched by Bandai in Japan in 1996, was a palm-sized egg-shaped toy with a tiny screen on which a virtual creature hatched and grew. Owners had to feed it, clean up after it, play with it and put it to sleep, and if they neglected it, it sickened and died. That demand for constant care made children and adults feel real guilt, and the toy became a craze of the late 1990s, followed by many robotic and digital pets. It marked a shift: a machine could create emotional attachment simply by needing attention. Later virtual pets, robot dogs and chatbot companions build on the same principle.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.