Saya Terrifies Innocent Shoppers At Japanese Department Store
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Monday, 19 of October , 2009 at 1:27 am
Just a few months ago, Saya was teaching hapless Japanese schoolchildren why they should be terrified of robots. Shockingly, she/it doesn’t seem to have that job anymore. Still more shockingly (seriously this time) she has a new job as a receptionist at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo.
[Saya] can provide about 700 programmed responses to questions and commands , enough to direct customers to the appropriate floor, make small talk, and answer a few basic questions about herself and her background. Although she responded appropriately most of the time, the cyber-receptionist occasionally seemed to misunderstand what people said. For example, one person complimented Saya by saying, “You are pretty,” but the robot flashed a look of disdain and responded with, “Are you crazy?”
Uh, that’s not a misunderstanding… Saya may be digging herself a hole at the bottom of the Uncanny Valley, but at least she’s got some brains in that creepy skull of hers.
VIA [ Pink Tentacle ]
Comments (1)
Category: Androids,Uncanny Valley
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Comment by Lily Strange
Made Monday, 19 of October , 2009 at 3:30 am
With that mug, she scares me. I write horror fiction, so that’s not really an easy feat to accomplish.
