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In Japan, Old People Talk to Robots
stupidfoo writes "AFP is reporting that, starting today, "Japan's growing elderly population will be able to buy companionship in the form of a 45-centimeter (18-inch) robot" designed to help them avoid senility. The robot, named Snuggling Ifbot and developed by Dream Supply, will be able to respond to verbal commands. "If a person tells Snuggling Ifbot, "I'm bored today," the robot might respond, "Are you bored? What do you want to do?"". It retails for 576,000 yen (5,600 dollars) and there is no English version currently available but "its makers plan to program the robot in English -- not for export, but to teach the language to Japanese children.""
Should I:
a) Weep for the millions of human tragedies that must have taken place to lead so many to this extreme of loneliness and general patheticness, or...
b) Laugh because it's called 'Snuggling Ifbot'?
Eh, I'll go for b). Hee hee hee... 'snuggling ifbot'... hee hee hee...
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
How will it push anyone down the stairs?
Sounds like a 5600$ version of Eliza.
I don't need a signature.
Great name to go senile with. That's the kind of name I want around when I'm 85 and dribbling, "you seen the snuggling ifbot today son?"
In Japan, sanity is talking to a robot called Snuggly Ifbot :-/
sig under construction...
in which case I really need to move out of my nice quiet server room and interact with the rest of my office - before one day ............
where am I... why have I got no pants on...
In America, Old people get shot by shotgun toting robots.