A Japanese professor has created what is possibly the creepiest android ever. Her name is Erica, and she was created by Osaka-based professor Hiroshi Ishiguro to work as a receptionist one day.
Erica blinks, speaks, moves, and listens using an array of microphones hidden in a flower vase.
Erica can even tell when she's being sassed. The android actually chided professor Ishiguro for making fun of her during an interview with a Bloomberg Businessweek reporter.
Although Professor Ishiguro considers Erica to be very human-like, Bloomberg reporter Ashlee Vance thinks that Erica is from the "Uncanny Valley," an almost-human place that causes revulsion in most people. (The Uncanny Valley concept is also what makes Big Tex so creepy.)
The Bloomberg video also treads into uncomfortable territory, with the male reporter petting Erica's cheek and the professor suggesting a kiss. Perhaps our social norms aren't keeping up with technology?
Androids are nothing new in Japan. There's actually a hotel in that country that is completely staffed by robots.
We aren't excited by the prospects of a robot hotel, but at least we have a great idea for a new American Horror Story season!
