Japanese Kansei Robot Looks Human and Likes Sushi, Next Up, the Terminator

Some people think robots are cute, and sure some of them like the Robosapien are a hoot. But when they start looking human and acting human, we start freaking out. Japan’s newest robot, Kansei is made up of a silicon face mask and 19 movable parts. He is capable of expressing 36 different facial expressions in reaction to word associations created from a self-updating online database of 500,00 words. “Kansei frowns when he hears the word ‘bomb’, smiles at ‘sushi’ and looks scared and disgusted when someone says ‘president’.” But the best part of the Reuters article is the end: “With Japan’s population expected to slide by around a quarter by 2050, and immigration a sensitive issue, some laboratories have developed humanoid robots that can work as maids.” Does no one over there watch Battlestar Galactica? Be afraid, very afraid.