SoftBot’s Pepper now has the means to conduct Buddhist funerals when a priest is unavailable Pepper dressed up in traditional robes ready to conduct a funeral (Video via Japan Times)
Seeing a robot doing everyday human jobs isn’t as shocking as it once was. Take SoftBot’s Pepper for example. The bot has already worked a variety of jobs in its short life, including a phone store, a Pizza Hut, and a French train station. But its latest job is something truly bizarre: Buddhist funerals. Yes, Pepper, the robot’s latest venture is a Buddhist priest for hire for funerals in Japan.
At the Life Ending Industry Expo in Tokyo, the robot was on display dressed in traditional religious robes and chanting sutras in a computerized voice while beating a drum. The chanting software was written by plastic molding maker Nissei Eco Co, who are behind Pepper’s latest job one hundred percent. They believe the bot performing funeral ceremonies can actually be useful when priests aren’t available. Because of Japan’s shrinking population, Buddhist priests don’t get as much financial support from their communities and often take on part time jobs.
And believe it or not, hiring Peppering would be cheaper. A human priest roughly costs $2,200, while Pepper only costs $450. Funeral arrangers even have the option of live streaming the ceremony to those who couldn’t attend.
Though the idea of having a robot at your funeral is weird, yet interesting Pepper has yet to be hired. And some people seem to be a bit skeptical about the whole idea. Tetsugi Matsuo, a Buddhist priest, went to the expo to see if Pepper could “impart the heart” it takes for the ceremony because “I believe that the heart is the foundation of religion.”
The priest brings up a good point. A funeral is often a sensitive time for people with emotions running high. Having a priest there can be a source of comfort. Can this really be the same with a robot? Just think about it. If you’re sitting at the funeral of a love one, do you really want to hear a computerized voice doing a mantra or providing a eulogy? Honestly, it’s hard to take this idea seriously only because it’s such a large and sensitive task. And seeing as Pepper has yet to be hired perhaps others feel the same way.
Not to mention there are still issues of security. Pepper is a companion bot and has sold very well in Japan, but users have been warned about the robots being a risk to the home. It was found that hackers could take control of robots made by Softbank, UBTech, and Universal. But if things don’t work out for the robot, we’re sure it won’t have a hard time finding another job.
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