7 votes

Kyoto temple enlists android Buddhist deity to help people

4 comments

  1. Algernon_Asimov
    Link
    Can a robot be a god? Can a god manifest in a robot? If humans make a robot, is that the deity's will, or did they create a god? I can't answer any of these questions, but I'm fascinated by this...

    Can a robot be a god? Can a god manifest in a robot? If humans make a robot, is that the deity's will, or did they create a god?

    I can't answer any of these questions, but I'm fascinated by this idea that these human beings built a deity (or maybe they just made a vessel for the deity to inhabit?).

    2 votes
  2. Ephemere
    Link
    This is absolutely amazing. At first I interpreted the headline as meaning that they had picked a member of a given patheon as representing help for people using the android operating system,...

    This is absolutely amazing. At first I interpreted the headline as meaning that they had picked a member of a given patheon as representing help for people using the android operating system, which made sense. There is a catholic patron saint of computers, and if android / ios were to survive another few decades, I could see there being saints specifically for those operating systems.

    But no, a literal, robot god, preaching. I'm kind of astounded.

    I hope it helps those who come to hear it.

    2 votes
  3. [2]
    skullkid2424
    Link
    Its an interesting concept - sticking to giving sermons limits the need to provide interactive conversation. Functionally, I don't know that it really does anything different than a human speaker...

    Its an interesting concept - sticking to giving sermons limits the need to provide interactive conversation. Functionally, I don't know that it really does anything different than a human speaker - but it does introduce the concept for later on down the road, where every small town might have a android preacher.

    ...but it also reminds me of the robots in Nier:Automata, which is a bit creepy.

    1. Algernon_Asimov
      Link Parent
      This robot isn't just a handy device for preaching sermons: it's a deity in its own right. It is the latest embodiment of the Bodhisattva Kannon (or "Guanyin").

      This robot isn't just a handy device for preaching sermons: it's a deity in its own right. It is the latest embodiment of the Bodhisattva Kannon (or "Guanyin").

      1 vote