Robotic Therapy

Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has developed a robotic seal they call Paro, a creation designed for therapeutic benefit that is currently being tested in nursing homes and with handicapped children.

Having a pet is good for people, especially people who are lonely or depressed, and Paro was created with this in mind. But just as the creation of robots intended as sexual companions raises the kind of moral and ethical questions I examined in Robotic Prostitution, so does the creation of robots intended for therapy:

Is it right for anyone who feels desperately lonely or depressed to gain relief in an illusion? Would it be fair to use robots, which appear to have feelings, among elders with dementia who might think they’re dealing with a real animal?

Robotic Prostitution continues to attract comments and attention, including from the distributors of the movie Ghost in the Shell that I referenced, who contacted me to tell me about their newest film, Karas, which will be released on April 25. I don’t know if the film will have the same social relevance as Ghost, but the production values look outstanding and they’ve hired a long list of Hollywood talent for the voice acting, something that happens all too rarely with Japanese releases.

They’re sending me a copy to check out, so I’ll be sure to let you know what I think.