Look Out Godzilla!
(There's a new giant robot in town)
TODAY’S issue of Staying Human is a topic that I’m thrilled to be writing about because it aligns perfectly with the prime directive of this newsletter: to explore what happens when new technologies and cultural traditions collide.
In this case, the technology in question is a giant robot named Gundam that stands 59 feet tall and weighs 25 tons; the tradition is Jotoshiki, an ancient Shinto ceremony.
Photo:https://preview.redd.it/fh288i2gzlf51.gif?format=mp4s=2e74692dda7f38517be466b494baaafa2eee65ca
THE BACKSTORY
There’s a new theme park opening this December in Yokohama, Japan. It’s called Gundam Factory and it’s a really big deal. Gundam Factory takes its name from a classic anime franchise known as, Mobile Suit Gundam that originated in the late 1970s. The Gundam franchise never lost its cool, and now spans over 40 years' worth of content. Pretty amazing! The main attraction when the theme park opens will be a giant moving replica of the classic RX-78-2 robot (pictured above). Gundam Factory outfitted the robot with a mechanical skeleton, which helps it reach a stunning 24 degrees of freedom, so… it can pick up its legs to walk, bend its knees to kneel, turn its head, and move its fingers to mimic hand signals.
But this newsletter isn’t going to focus on the fact that the world has gained a giant robot that looks like it could stomp across a major city in a matter of minutes, crushing anything that gets in its way. I’ll save that for another time.
ROBOTS, RITUALS AND SYMBOLS
What I’d rather focus on now is something else that I found to be extremely interesting. It has to do with the Gundam Robot’s emergence into this world. The images below are of the ceremony that Gundam Factory held when they premiered the robot to the public.
The ceremony is called Jotoshiki (the roof-laying ceremony) (上棟式) and it is traditionally held to mark the completion of the frame of a house. It’s sometimes referred to as a ‘raising the roof’ ceremony. As shown in the photo below, two Shinto priests were tasked with blessing the Gundam suit headpiece before it went on. The two men in light blue robes are the priests, and in this picture, they are anointing the helmet.
Photo: https://preview.redd.it/fh288i2gzlf51.gif?format=mp4s=2e74692dda7f38517be466b494baaafa2eee65ca
Even though the robot resembles a human form, the ceremony chosen was one designed for architecture rather than people. In this updated version of Jotoshiki the robot’s head takes the place of the roof of a house. After the Shinto priests blessed it, Gundam’s head was lifted up and secured to the robot's shoulders with a building crane.
Photo: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/giant-gundam-robot-in-japan-shows-off-slick-moves
Shinto rituals and celebrations stress harmony between deities, humans, and nature, and the Jotoshiki ceremony focuses on securing the safety of a building after completion. The very fact that Gundam Factory held a Shinto ceremony at all, is, I think, a wise and wonderful decision, because we should be all praying for harmony and safety with regard to our robotic creations!
However, as someone who was raised as a Catholic, when I first saw this photo, it reminded me of a baptism. When I learned more about the Jotoshiki ceremony, I was curious about why Gundam Factory chose this particular ritual. Shinto does have a ceremony related to babies, called a Miyamairi ceremony. So, I did a little more research and discovered that the anime Gundam robots are ‘manned’ by humans, so the Jotoshiki ritual is actually more appropriate than I’d first thought. Also, the robot is an engineering feat, kind of like a house is. When it’s time to put the lid on it, you do the ceremony. Simple explanation. Except, something still felt wrong to me.
So, what does it mean to treat a robot as an 'engineering feat' rather than welcoming it as a fellow ‘being’? WHERE WE ARE TODAY
The question of how humans relate to robots is an increasingly important one. To say a robot is nothing more than a bit of engineering leaves enormous gaps in the moral and ethical considerations of human-robot relations. From a legal standpoint, most corporations will benefit from keeping a clear separation between robots and humans or animals. (Worker’s rights don’t come cheap!) However, the marketing departments of many of these robot manufacturers will argue the exact opposite. Makers of robots like Pepper, Walker, Toyota’s Robo Mini, Sony’s Aibo, etc. clearly want to blur the line between robots and living creatures because robots that evoke emotion are more personable, approachable and desirable, and that makes them easier to sell. For example, in the LiKU robot sales video (see link below) the company says they designed the robot in a way that ‘allows LiKU to be regarded as a living creature’.
MOVING FORWARD
I have included some links at the bottom of this newsletter for anyone who is interested in learning more about the ethical aspects of human-robot relations. I’ll also leave a few links to promotional videos for other robots, in which the robots are introduced as a ‘friend’ rather than a machine. And finally, I’ve added a link to a video of a headless humanoid robot being tormented as part of its development by Boston Dynamics, which I found to be very emotionally evocative. Actually, it was downright disturbing. Even without a head or any obviously ‘emotional’ programming, robots that look or move like living creatures do bring up emotions in most people. There is tremendous power in this.
On the one hand, if a robotic pet seal (Paro) can bring peace to an Alzheimer’s patient, that’s great, right? But for every ‘great’ reason to anthropomorphize robots, there is an equally pressing reason not to. For example, the sex robot industry is riddled with debates about ethics and the use of human-like robots for what many would consider to be profoundly immoral acts. Sex robots that look like children do exist and are sold by Shin Takegi. Some argue that this could help prevent potential pedophiles from harming real children, though this assertion has been broadly contested. Sex robots programmed to ‘resist sex are also made and sold, which opponents like Kate Devlin argue, reinforce objectification and abuse of women. The one fact that I think everyone can agree on is that there are a tremendous number of moral and ethical considerations with regard to robot-human relations, and while the lawyers and politicians and corporations battle it out in the courts for decades to come, we regular humans need not stand by helplessly. We can tap into the power of ritual and tradition to help guide the course of human-robot relations.
Rituals help to keep current values and structures of society consistent from one generation to the next and they also help us respond to changes in our world and give meaning to new events. I believe that taking the time to develop new rituals and traditions, like Gundam Factory has done, can help us develop healthier attitudes and relationships not just with robots, but with one another and with ourselves as technology creeps further and further into our lives.
Photo: https://hypebeast.com/2020/8/japan-life-size-gundam-now-complete-yokohama-info
In a world where men are marrying manga characters and sex-robot brothels are actually a thing, Gundam Factory’s use of ritual serves as an important reminder that robots are engineering feats driven by human intelligence. While this may be obvious at the moment, it won’t always be. Robots are getting softer, sleeker, smarter, more emotive and more human looking, so we’re going to have to start thinking about robots more carefully, if we want to hold onto our humanity. And that’s what this newsletter is all about.
Until next time… Stay Human!
LINKS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION:
Some background on Jotoshiki:
https://tokyohome.blogspot.com/2011/05/jotoshiki.html
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s page about Ethics AI and Robotics:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-ai/
For a deeper exploration of the ethics of sex robots specifically:
For an update on sex robot brothels:
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/prostitute-warns-sex-robot-takeover-21391568
CNET video introduction to Walker, a bipedal robot from UBTech that walks, dances, does yoga and can even grasp things with its robotic fingers:
LIKU – (as in Like You) promotional video:
Paro, the robotic seal helping Alzheimer’s patients.
http://www.parorobots.com
Ofetto, the childlike robot that winces from ‘pain’.
https://mashable.com/video/robot-artificial-skin-feel/
A team at Boston Dynamics abusing a robot in what is, to me at least, a pretty disturbing video.