Abstract
Anthropomorphic avatars and disembodied voices have become part of everyday life in Japan. From the animated characters that bow after you complete a transaction at an automated teller machine to the phenomenal proliferation of consumer goods bearing cute faces. There is a discernable growing tendency to anthropomorphize machines. These anthropomorphic devices stand in contrast with the somewhat automated nature of many human interactions. Particularly in the behavior required of employees that work in customer service roles, which calls to mind the demand that workers must often behave as machines from which the notion of a robot originates. Based on research conducted at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, examples not only of how friendliness can be mechanically produced but also of new devices being imbued with functions to demonstrate their friendliness will be critically examined.
Highlights
At five minutes before five o’clock the museum at Miraikan’s imminent closing is indicated by a recorded loudspeaker announcement. It plays on loop, thanking visitors in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean
The role of emotional feedback and the ability to invoke an awareness of its own body image heighten the potential for learning from the machine itself. In this respect the gesture vacuum robot is both figuratively and literally user-friendly. It has been demonstrated how in various circumstances machines must be made to behave as human and people are made to behave as machines, as the friendly patrolling model of service staff behavior demonstrates
The tendency towards the humanization of machines and mechanization of human behaviour is a relationship that has been critically commented on since the industrial revolution and continues to be influential in the development of new technology
Summary
Received September 16th, 2013; revised October 18th, 2013; accepted November 15th, 2013. Anthropomorphic avatars and disembodied voices have become part of everyday life in Japan. From the animated characters that bow after you complete a transaction at an automated teller machine to the phenomenal proliferation of consumer goods bearing cute faces. There is a discernable growing tendency to anthropomorphize machines. These anthropomorphic devices stand in contrast with the somewhat automated nature of many human interactions. In the behavior required of employees that work in customer service roles, which calls to mind the demand that workers must often behave as machines from which the notion of a robot originates. Based on research conducted at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, examples of how friendliness can be mechanically produced and of new devices being imbued with functions to demonstrate their friendliness will be critically examined
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