Robot Workforce

My time in Japan has provided me with a new and unique lens through which I viewed a recent feature on CBC's The National. The story shows the Japanese robotics industry in a fun and playful way, but at the heart of the story is another motivation. I applaude the CBC for showing this aspect of the story, if only briefly.

The decision by Japanese authorities to focus masses of national resources on solving a population/workforce crisis by developing robotics is fueled by their leading-edge technological savvy and a national obsession with robots. True, but there is also a more troubling component in the minds of some in the decision to invest so heavily in a robotic workforce, and that is avoidance of foreign labour. Arguments can, and have been made, for and against foreign labour in Japan and in reality there are already nearly 500,000 foreign workers in Japan, but the reference in the story to concerns over foreign crime rates is evidence that at least in some cases race plays a role in the drive to develop worker robots.

The debate over culturally acceptable racism and political remedies continues in Japan and I can't personally add much to the discussion. I can say with confidence that the receptionist robot is way too scary, and if I worked in the office with the security-bot I would probably snap and devise some sort of saltwater-in-the-wiring accident.

The link to the story is below. The video is about 12 mintues long, so if you don't have time to watch it, you will just have to take my word for it (the creepiness of the reception robot that is).

CBC's "Send in the Robots"