When experts predicted that robots will take
most of our jobs in the next few decades,
priests were probably among the least
concerned humans on the planet. After all,
machines and spirituality don’t exactly go
hand in hand. But one Japanese company is
showing everyone that no job is safe, with a
line of “Buddhist robots” that can perform
funeral services at a fraction of the cost
demanded by human priests.
Pepper, a humanoid robot developed by
SoftBank Robotics, has taken on several jobs
since it hit the market two years ago.
Advertised as the first robot capable of
reading human emotions, it has been deployed
to banks, sushi shops and nursing homes,
where it acts as a receptionist, identifying
visitors with its facial recognition software,
offering information or just chatting to people.
But the robot’s creators have recently come
up with another job for it – Buddhist priest for
clients looking to cut down on funeral costs.
Nissei Eco, a company that has been involved
in the funeral business since 2000, recently
launched a new campaign targeting budget-
conscious customers that don’t mind having a
robot chanting mantras and reciting sutras,
instead of a human priest. The incentive is
quite attractive, as a funeral service performed
by a Buddhist robot is priced at just $460,
significantly cheaper than having a real priest
do it.
Source: punchng and bbc
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