The future of pets

As human–animal relationships evolve, so too do the technologies, infrastructures, and cultural meanings that surround them. From communication tools to legal rights, pets are no longer seen as accessories — they’re becoming companions, emotional support systems, and cultural touch points. Below are five signals reshaping what pet ownership could look like in the years ahead.

Tech is unlocking new ways to talk to animals

The next wave of pet tech is less about convenience and more about connection. As interest grows in interspecies communication, researchers and startups are developing tools that move beyond monitoring to decoding. Nearly 65 percent of pet owners say they wish they could better understand their animals (Sentient Media, 2024), a sentiment driving rapid investment in AI-based interpretation tools. Canaery, for instance, is piloting a scent-based “nose-computer interface” that enables dogs to control a digital cursor via sniff-driven inputs — effectively using smell to navigate a computer environment (Wired, 2024). Meanwhile, machine learning models are being trained to decode vocalizations, gestures, and behavioral patterns across species. One study found AI could distinguish pig vocalizations with over 90 percent accuracy, pointing to a future where animal language may be increasingly machine-readable.

Pets are becoming powerful allies against loneliness

As loneliness becomes a defining condition of modern life, animals — and even animal proxies — are increasingly positioned as emotional infrastructure. In South Korea, some young adults are adopting pet rocks, not as irony, but as quiet resistance to hyper-capitalist pressures and the social exhaustion of human relationships (Dazed Digital, 2024). In the U.S., robot pets are being distributed to older adults to combat social isolation — responding to research that shows loneliness increases risk of premature death by up to 26% (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015). Pet companionship has been shown to lower cortisol and boost oxytocin, making both organic and artificial pets a soothing interface for an atomized world.

 

Image: Nataliya Vaitevich

How animal identity is sparking cultural debates

The boundaries between human and animal identity are not only being blurred in tech — they’re showing up in culture. The rise of furry subcultures, where individuals adopt animal personas, has become a lightning rod in schools and politics. At Fordham University, student leaders recently discussed the growing presence of furries on campus (Fordham Ram, 2024), while Texas proposed legislation banning “non-human behavior” in classrooms (MSN, 2023). Often misunderstood, these moments reflect larger tensions: discomfort with fluid identity, symbolic rebellion, and the evolving role of animals in self-expression. As identity becomes more hybrid, the animal becomes both metaphor and battleground.

Animals are gaining rights and recognition

Legal and social frameworks are increasingly adapting to reflect a new view of animals as beings with relationships, needs, and even rights. Scholars are advocating for legal personhood for animals, while cities like New York are introducing pet-friendly homeless shelters to remove barriers for people with animal companions. Meanwhile, pet travel is reshaping hospitality norms — 68 percent of U.S. pet owners consider their pets when making travel plans, and 56 percent prefer pet-friendly accommodations (APPA, 2023). These shifts suggest a broader redefinition of who belongs — and what rights follow from that recognition.

Custom-designed pets are becoming a reality

As gene-editing technology becomes more accessible, bespoke pets are moving from sci-fi to near-future reality. In Los Angeles, one conceptual project proposes CRISPR-modified glowing rabbits — part art installation, part provocation (Wired, 2024). But this trajectory is real: from designer dog breeds to cloned cats (available for ~$35,000), personalization is becoming a market expectation. As biotech moves further into consumer life, ethical debates about creating animals for aesthetics or emotional compatibility will only grow louder.

Why it matters

What we call pet trends may actually be signals of something far more profound: a slow redefinition of who counts, who connects, and who belongs in our cultural, legal, and emotional systems. As pets become communicators, caregivers, companions, and even cohabitants in legally recognized ways, they blur lines once thought immutable — between human and non-human, between biology and emotion, between product and partner.

These shifts don’t just affect how we live with animals; they influence how we live with each other. The rise of pet personhood, robot companionship, and gene-edited animals lays groundwork for expanded definitions of family, kinship, and care — the same definitions that affect trans rights, chosen families, co-parenting, and identity recognition. If we can imagine a future where a glowing rabbit has legal standing or a dog co-navigates a digital interface, we can also imagine a future where self-determined identity and nontraditional family structures are fully normalized and protected under law.

In this way, the future of pets may be one of the most accessible — and subversive — onramps to broader societal change. What looks like a cultural curiosity today could soon become legal precedent, policy prototype, or mainstream emotional architecture.