"Aiko"-- bravely tripping over the Uncanny Valley

[roseembolism]

So there was a bit of fuss over Le Trung, the man from Toronto who's trying to construct a robotic maid. Evidently the assumption is that the intent is to make himself a robotic girlfriend, even though the inventor insists his robot "Aiko" it would be made primarily for assisting old people or invalids. At least that's what the Globe and Mail article says. Admittedly, it doesn't help his case, that in spite of his protestations, he is willing to answer all-too intimate questions on  Aiko's anatomy, and he evidently used as a base what suspiciously sounds like a Realdoll.  So naturally, the internet reaction hasn't been very pleasant: as one poster said contemptuously, ""Has there been any progress in AI at all? That is just a glorified chatbot."

Hum.

Unfortunately, there's more than a few people out there who would WANT a glorified chatbot. One with attachments for sex. And who could fix dinner and clean the house without complaining, without having the needs and desires that a human companion would have.  And frankly, it that keeps those people out of the dating pool, I see no downside.
 

But let's look beyond the tawdry sex toy element of this whole affair, and take Le Trung at his word, that Aiko is designed for things like helping the elderly.  Sadly, I can actually see how it would be very helpful in that capacity; given the state of our elder care, there's more than a few people who may actually need a glorified chatbot.  One with attachments for giving them pills and helping them up after they've fallen.  That need is only goin g to increase as the baby-boomers begin to need full-time care, and the nuclear family continues to disintegrate.  If you can't rely on children to take care of you in your dotage, a robot, especially a pleasant-looking and sounding one might seem like an attractive option.
 

Now, does anyone want to speculate how many Metafilter, Livejournal, Blogspot and other internet pundits are going to end up all alone in a warehouse-style nursing home, bedridden, with almost no human contact?  With just a nursebot to medicate and clean up after them?
 

...and of course their full-sensory, 360-degree holographic game consoles, and their 24-7 connection to their World of Warcraft accounts.