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exploring the relation between man and machine in Japan.
A project by journalist Marcus Hansson and artist Fredrik Skåtar
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The
year is 1650 and it’s tea-time in Tokyo. A servant with
a steaming hot cup of tea in her
hands approaches a group of noble guests. One of the guests picks up the
cup and thanks
the servant with a stuttering voice. He doesn’t get a reply as the
servant returns to her initial
position. The host giggles with joy. His Karakuri mechanical
servant has again astonished
his guests.
Japan’s fascination for automata, or robot, goes back hundreds of
years. With the limited
possibilities of their time, Japanese scientists created mechanical devices
that mimicked
human action such as serving tea, shooting with bow and arrows or playing
an instrument.
One can say that the Karakuri dolls was the first step towards replacing
human labour. But an
even more important function was its ability to entertain, amuse and comfort
humans.
350
years later, a beautiful young Japanese girl named Repliee Q1
is guiding the visitors at
a technical expo in Aichi, Japan. She listens, replies and points out
the way with her silicon
hands. Around the corner, her sister Repliee R1 (resembling a 5 year old)
makes a group
of people astonished with her human-like behaviour. The distinction between
man and
machine has become diffuse and this process will go on.
Japanese
robot-builders envisage a society in which people and robots can coexist.
Your children will be able to play with a mechanical version of their
grandmother while the
real grandmother has been given a mechanical pet to comfort her in times
of loneliness.
Androids
appear everywhere in society; they drive your car, they nurse you and
they teach at
school. Robots of today are here to amuse us. They are here to take care
of us and ultimately
enhance the qualities of human life.
In
our project, we want to ask Japanese researchers how they believe robots
will change the
future society.
How will robots look like in the coming years?
What can they do for us?
Do you see any ethical problems?
Will they rearrange the social structure?
Why do we need them at all?
Is this a revolution?
We will present our project in Sweden as a photo exhibition and a radio
documentary.
We hope to thoroughly present the latest achievements of Japanese humanoid
development
to the Swedish audience and to answer the above questions.
Contact
us by sending an email to: automata@skatar.com
© Marcus Hansson & Fredrik Skåtar 2008
Fredrik
Skåtar is an architect and an artist.
He has attended art- and architectural schools in Stockholm,
Paris and Berlin. He has worked for the internationally
renowned artist Olafur Eliasson, is currently running
his own studio and conducting a PhD study at Lund University.
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www.skatar.com
Marcus
Hansson is a radio journalist.
He has a degree in journalism from the University
of Stockholm and works for Swedish National
Public Radio, specialising in reporting on science.
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www.sr.se
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