[extropy-chat] We, robot: the future is here

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

Saya isn't even human. But in a country where robots are changing the
way people live, work, play and even love, that doesn't stop Saya the
cyber-receptionist from defending herself from men who are out of
line. With voice recognition technology allowing 700 verbal responses
and an almost infinite number of facial expressions from joy to
despair, surprise to rage, Saya may not be biological - but she is
nobody's fool.
"I almost feel like she's a real person," said Kobayashi, an associate
professor at the Tokyo University of Science and Saya's inventor.
Having worked at the university for almost two years now, she's an old
hand at her job. "She has a temper ... and she sometimes makes
mistakes, especially when she has low energy," the professor said.
Saya's wrath is the latest sign of the rise of the robot. Analysts say
Japan is leading the world in a new generation of consumer robots. The
latest models, such as Saya, will be demonstrated at the World Expo
opening just outside Nagoya on March 25.
Some scientists are calling the wave a technological force poised to
change human lifestyles more radically than the advent of the personal
computer or the mobile phone.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Science/We-robot-the-future-is-here/2005/03/13/1110649061137.html