What the Kirobo Mini means for robotics

Kirobo Mini is a very young child. Barely 10 cm tall, he is nevertheless very friendly with strangers (against conventional parental wisdom). Kirobo displays a prodigious talent for data analysis, and bases his conversational responses upon data collected from cars, refrigerators and other appliances.

Kirobo Mini has a supercomputer for a heart.

Kirobo Mini is a robot.

He is meant to provide companionship, particularly to childless women. His cuteness is meant to tug at their heartstrings, and provide them with hours of entertainment and joy.

According to Toyota, Kirobo's creators, the “baby” robot is incapable of balancing himself. He frequently wobbles his head, highlighting his “vulnerability” which further enhances his emotional appeal. Every attempt is made to present his “human-like” features; Kirobo even responds to hugs and kisses.

According to leading computer scientist Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn, Kirobo's creation was inspired by the hugely popular Tamagotchi, a virtual pet simulator. Tamagotchi became popular very quickly, providing gamers with many “oh, so cute moments”. Toyota went even further and created a lovable humanoid that can be interacted with physically.

Japan is fast becoming a huge market for robots of all types. While industrial robots have been in widespread use for over a decade (Japan has a robot: human ratio of 314:10000, the highest in the world), automated companions are also expected to become rapidly popular. In 2014, the world's first advanced humanoid robot-”Pepper”-was launched by France-based Aldebaran Robotics in collaboration with the Japanese banking firm Softbank. Japan has been Pepper's biggest market ever since. Even the $1,931 price tag didn't dissuade businesses as many of them bought it in order to provide their front-desk and technical support services with extra zing.

There is a sadder side to the widespread adoption of these robots, however. Japan's population has experienced a sharp decline in recent times. The last 5 years have seen the population dropping by as much as a million. By 2100, Japan's population is expected to decline to only about 83 million from the current figure of 127 million. With 30% of the population aged above 65, Japan is suffering from a severe shortage of young people. The fertility rate of 1.4, the lowest in the world, has resulted in a declining toddler population and thousands of childless women. Kirobo Mini has been designed to cater specifically to these women, allowing them to revel in maternity, atleast to a certain extent.

Can companionship robots become the subject of emotional attachment as much as living, breathing human beings? Toyota has categorically emphasized that the Kirobo Mini cannot completely substitute real human babies. Dr, Dautenhahn has gone so far as to term the concept of replacement as an “offensive” one.

Ethical concerns have been voiced over the use of humanoid robots since the 19th and 20th centuries. Legendary novelist Issac Asimov's “I, Robot” portrayed artificial intelligence reaching an incredible level of advancement, causing robots to “go rogue” and attack humans. While Kirobo is unlikely to attack his “mothers” using knives and lasers, unlike the Terminator cyborgs, the ethical questions surrounding robotics cannot be easily dismissed. Robots themselves have been on the receiving end of violence; in August 2015, the hitchhiking robot HitchBot was decapitated while walking down an American highway. Aldebaran has also admitted that there is a high likelihod of Pepper getting sexually assaulted and has sternly ordered users to avoid sexual contact with her.

The biggest worry of all doesn't involve apocalyptic scenarios; advanced humanoid robots could quickly become real substitutes for humans in all kinds of social interactions. Families could get fragmented even further, and interacting with ordinary humans might become a formality. Also, Pepper's excellent performance as a receptionist has worked wonders for Softbank's growth; but it has also left fewer front-desk jobs for humans. In today's world, where economic crises are commonplace, the use of humanoid robots may drive up unemployment to unmanageable levels.

The next time you see a robot, however, please don't decapitate it; the next generation of companionship robots are likely to be used as personal assistants and data scientists. After all, shouldn't it be perfectly possible to love Kirobo Mini while valuing our traditional emotional attachments towards human babies?

Eclipse Technoconsulting Global Pvt. Ltd, a leading software development company in Kolkata, India, urges its avid readers to prize both human emotions as well as the latest developments in robotics. After all, it was the basic human emotions of passion, empathy and pride which made the existence of these robots possible in the first place.