• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Mindar The Android Priest

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
29,622
Location
Out of Bounds
Meet the new face of Buddhist preaching in Japan ...

02317950d9ceef3a05df446f720b54ec8d73a6bc.jpg
Playing god: Japan temple puts faith in robot priest

A 400-year-old temple in Japan is attempting to hot-wire interest in Buddhism with a robotic priest it believes will change the face of the religion -- despite critics comparing the android to "Frankenstein's monster."

The android Kannon, based on the Buddhist deity of mercy, preaches sermons at Kodaiji temple in Kyoto, and its human colleagues predict that with artificial intelligence it could one day acquire unlimited wisdom.

"This robot will never die, it will just keep updating itself and evolving," priest Tensho Goto told AFP.

"That's the beauty of a robot. It can store knowledge forever and limitlessly.

"With AI we hope it will grow in wisdom to help people overcome even the most difficult troubles. It's changing Buddhism," added Goto. [*]

The adult-sized robot began service earlier this year and is able to move its torso, arms and head.

But only its hands, face and shoulders are covered in silicone to replicate human skin.

Clasping its hands together in prayer and speaking in soothing tones, the rest of the droid's mechanical parts are clearly visible.

Wiring and blinking lights fill the cranial cavity of its open-top head and snake around its gender-neutral, aluminium body.

Developed at a cost of almost $1m in a joint project between the Zen temple and renowned robotics professor Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University, the humanoid -- called Mindar -- teaches about compassion and of the dangers of desire, anger and ego.
FULL STORY: https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/playing-god-japan-temple-puts-faith-robot-priest-doc-1hp4r93

[*] NOTE: As far as I can tell, the current version of Kannon is simply an animatronic presentation. There's nothing in the article to suggest it is currently driven or controlled by any AI technology.

See Also:

https://www.livescience.com/android-preaches-buddhist-wisdom.html
 
Meet the new face of Buddhist preaching in Japan ...

View attachment 19691

FULL STORY: https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/playing-god-japan-temple-puts-faith-robot-priest-doc-1hp4r93

[*] NOTE: As far as I can tell, the current version of Kannon is simply an animatronic presentation. There's nothing in the article to suggest it is currently driven or controlled by any AI technology.

See Also:

https://www.livescience.com/android-preaches-buddhist-wisdom.html
It's no good if it can't do Kung Fu.
 
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mindar-android-buddhist-priest-japan/index.html
------------------------------------------------
It may seem like an out there move, but a 400-year-old Japanese temple has brought in a robot named Mindar to preach sermons.

The adult-sized android, modeled after Kannon Bodhisattva, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, was introduced to the Kodaiji temple in Kyoto earlier this year.

Although some critics have compared it to "Frankenstein's monster," Mindar has gone down well with colleagues, who say it's doing wonders for the spiritual tradition founded by Siddhartha Gautama over 2,500 years ago.
 
NOTE: The news stories reporting this robotic priest's introduction vary in the names they attribute to it. Some call it "Kannon" (after the deity it represents), whereas others call it "Mindar."
 
Well, Dad says his Methodist circuit has twelve chapels and four priests.

They cant find any more.

Even Lay preachers are a struggle.

I told him they should pay them more and make the job attractive and he said they havent the money.

Can you see why I am not a methodist?

I will send him that link, tell him automation is the answer.
 
I dont think that is quite the idea, James.

Dont build a robot without putting in the soul...
 
There's nothing in the article to suggest it is currently driven or controlled by any AI technology
At present: yet, if they're saying....

"With AI we hope it will grow in wisdom to help people overcome even the most difficult troubles.
.... does this not sound very like a planned, inevitable firmware upgrade?

Dont build a robot without putting in the soul...
But...easier to pour the tea into a readied vessel, than trying to catch the tea in a pot that has not yet seen the wheel or kiln
 
Last edited:
I figure it's like a chatbot. It will probably just have a few pre-written responses like "That would be an ecumenical matter".
 
I figure it's like a chatbot. It will probably just have a few pre-written responses like "That would be an ecumenical matter".
This type of thing is more than 50 years old. See Wikipedia's article on ELIZA and the DOCTOR script that simulated a psychotherapist. With even a little AI it would be quite effective, although nowhere near as "conscious" as many will say it is.
 
Back
Top