You probably can't believe a companion robot was created that is so realistic that one in two people would mistake it for a real person. And not only is this vivid companion robot mistaken for a real person, but those who have seen her also think she is "sexy".
Geminoid F
The companion robot, called Geminoid F, is about 1.68 meters tall and human-like, blinking, responding to eye contact, and recognizing body language. Now that robots are becoming increasingly unrecognizable, Mexican-born robotics expert Dr. David (David Silvera-Tawil) wanted to find out if Geminoid F could be distinguished from a real person.
The video of this particular robot was first posted online in 2010, but viewers have recently taken to the tube to express their views on the realistic robot, with many saying they find the doll "sexy. One viewer wrote:"I wish they had this before I married my ex-wife." Another added,"Would it be weird if I thought she was cute?"
Scary Thought
While some people found the companion robot attractive, others felt scared and uncomfortable after not being able to tell if the woman was real or not. As it turns out, imagining yourself facing a robot and a human and not being able to tell who is real and who is fake is really a scary thought - and Hollywood has used this idea for decades to make movies to reap audiences.
The 1973 film "Westworld" tells the story of a fictional robot tourist destination where, due to a security failure, robots begin a killing spree. From The Terminator and Blade Runner to Transformers and Star Trek, fictional robot worlds have both excited and terrified moviegoers, and now they are becoming a reality.
The Evolving Japanese Robot
The companion robot, called Gemini F, was developed by Professor Yoshio Matsumoto, a renowned robot designer at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo, and is called Gemini F because it is identical to a replica human and can be operated remotely.
Dr. David said he also wondered if, despite the fear, fast-emerging industries would benefit from building robots, such as the adult industry, the escort industry, or whether it would be better to continue using less lifelike machines. He said that at this point in time, it appears that people's responses and answers to questionnaires after the experiment was conducted show that they feel anxious, nervous and even scared when they are exposed to the Gemini F. In the first experiment, Gemini F and a person sat side by side, both wearing the same clothes, and a participant had five seconds to identify who was the real person, and about half of the participants said they were unsure who the robot was. And Dr. David's investigation isn't over yet; the next step is to examine whether humans can get used to interacting with robots over time by reducing the fear and anxiety they generate.
Coincidentally, some commenters thought the female robot looked a lot like a character played by Karma Chan in the BBC sci-fi series "The Real Human. Karma Chan plays a higher synthetic named Anita, who is purchased by a family that believes she is brand new to robotics. Instead, she is actually named Mia, a sentient synthetic human, and in spending time with her the family soon realizes that living with a synthetic human can have terrible, far-reaching consequences.
Reflections
The threat of synthetics to humans is not one that drives them to be lazy or takes away their jobs. Rather, it is the empowerment of humanity. Upwardly mobile humans learn how to manipulate synthetics to make life easier in the data age. And professions like lawyers and programmers are supposed to be irreplaceable. The opponents who marched and spoke were incompetent in their own right. Even in a world without synthetics, they will always be at the bottom. Even if the advanced technology are blocked, the anti-intellectual groups still can not break through the class shackles. Synthetic people did liberate human brain power, labor, people can think about philosophical issues, can innovate, can go further in the arts. Synthetic people are merely recorded into the music and play more accurately, but they do not innovate. But when the synthesizer is given a mind, is given humanity, that is disaster.
