They Have Made A Bible Reading Robot To Help Old People

The name of this small robot is "SanTO." With the 1,5 foot height, it has a similar appearance with that of those figurines or altars used to decorate houses by the Catholic. The development team equipped this initiative with a microphone to listen to user and cameras to recognize emotions on the user's face. Based on all the input information, the software of the robot will then process it to deliver suitable religious texts for the owner's troubles. Following the topic is The Wall Street Journal, they said that it is a good combination of technology and religion which will challenge the concept of who and what could influence the faith of a person.

Gabriele Trovato (a roboticist from Waseda University) is the one behind the BibleBot design. Some religious leaders have warned him to not let SanTO interpret the scripture. They only want it to recite the scripture - according to WSJ reports.

In an interview with WSJ, Trovato said:

The advancement of AI and robot technology is something inevitable. And technology has become intertwined with all aspects of our life including religion. In religion, the pope is supporting the apps, robots are more capable of delivering sermons. While many people in Japan are praying to the statues of robotic Buddhist deities.

While the intended purpose of Trovato's SanTO is to spread religion, but as of it is so far the users might be considering it as a fun buddy for elderly and lonely people. Of course, not like those robot dogs and other robot companions.