A 400-year-old temple in Japan is attempting to hot-wire interest in Buddhism with a robotic priest that 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 the Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, and its human colleagues predict that with artificial intelligence (AI), it could one day acquire unlimited wisdom.
“This robot will never die. It will just keep updating itself and evolving,” priest Tensho Goto said.
Photo: AFP
“That’s the beauty of a robot. It can store knowledge forever and limitlessly. With AI, we hope that it will grow in wisdom to help people overcome even the most difficult troubles. It’s changing Buddhism,” Goto added.
The adult-sized robot, which began service earlier this year, 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.
A tiny video camera installed in the left eye completes an eerie, cyborg-like frame seemingly lifted straight out of a dystopian Hollywood sci-fi thriller.
Developed at a cost of almost US$1 million in a joint project between the Zen temple and Osaka University robotics professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, the humanoid — called Mindar — teaches about compassion and of the dangers of desire, anger and ego.
“You cling to a sense of selfish ego,” it tells worshippers. “Worldly desires are nothing other than a mind lost at sea.”
With religion’s influence on daily life flat-lining in Japan, Goto hopes that Kodaiji’s robot priest will be able to reach younger generations in a way that traditional monks cannot.
“Young people probably think that a temple is a place for funerals or weddings,” he said, trying to explain the disconnect with religion. “It might be difficult to relate to fuddy-duddy priests like me, but hopefully the robot is a fun way to bridge that gap. We want people to see the robot and think about the essence of Buddhism.”
However, Goto said that Mindar is no gimmick to boost income from tourists.
“This robot teaches us ways to overcome pain,” he said. “It is here to save anyone who seeks help.”
The pious droid delivers sermons from the Heart Sutras in Japanese, with translations in English and Chinese projected onto a screen for foreign visitors.
“The goal of Buddhism is to ease suffering,” Goto said. “Modern society brings other kinds of stress, but the goal hasn’t really changed for more than 2,000 years.”
“Obviously a machine doesn’t have a soul,” Goto said. “But Buddhist faith isn’t about believing in God. It’s about following Buddha’s path, so it doesn’t matter whether it is represented by a machine, a scrap of iron or a tree.”
The temple insists that the deity of mercy is able to transform itself at will and that an android is merely the latest incarnation.
“AI has developed to such an extent that we thought it logical for the Buddha to transform into a robot,” Goto said. “We hope it will touch people’s hearts and minds.”
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