ROBOT RELIGION? 

In times of panic, chaos or rapid change, the bizarre rapidly becomes acceptable.

Some months ago I bought a book by Frederik L. Schodt entitled "The Robot Kingdom". Prior to purchasing I flipped through the pages and noticed portions devoted to the Fanuc robot plant located in Oshino-mura, Yamanashi, at the base of Mount Fuji. It is the home of the world's largest robot maker, where robots make robots. As I had been interested by events there during one of my earlier trips to Japan, this update intrigued me. I was not disappointed after reading.

Most North Americans are unaware that Buddhists believe anything man creates is an outpouring of the soul, be it a painting, a vase, a rake, a hammer or a saw. For centuries Buddhists have held religious ceremonies to oil and wash their tools and place them on the altar thanking the gods for allowing their tools to earn them a living. To most North Americans and Europeans, the word "robot" conjures up something cold and sterile. Something that will take their jobs away. Not so in Asia and especially in Japan, as these new entrants into the workforce are viewed as friends and co-workers, willing to handle heavy lifting, dangerous jobs and work in such toxic environments as the paint shop and the microchip etching room. It is not unusual to see a human worker give a friendly pat to a robot co-worker when the human goes off shift (while the robot, true friend, continues to work through the night).

The Japanese attitude towards robots is clearly depicted in the official logo of the Japanese Industrial Robot Society which shows the stainless steel-gloved hand of a robot releasing man from his position as a lowly worker (caterpillar) into a creative and beautiful butterfly.

Now as third-generation robots are being infused with artificial intelligence, workers cannot fail to notice that such robots have the abilities of the gods. Not only Asian gods. The latest robots even meet Christianity's criteria for a god. They can walk on water and under water. They can operate in outer space and perform what appear to be miraculous operations. They can calculate and respond faster than man. They can sense infra-red and ultraviolet light, not seen by humans. Robot perception of the wide band width of the electromagnetic spectrum is far greater than mere man. What do you mean they are not gods?

Perhaps an even clearer illustration of the movement towards a robot religion stands in Bangkok, capital of Thailand. There the Bank of Asia has built its head office, a shrine to the new age ... in the form of a 20-storey robot. It may be the most "humane" bank building on earth and is a physical embodiment of the bank's commitment to the future. They wanted to provide a profile ... a soul and an image readily identified with the future. The way such a building affects people who view it may say more about what goes on inside than the exterior appearance.

What is inside the world's first robot-shaped bank building, symbolizing advanced technology? A cold, sterile environment? No. There is a day-care-centre for both staff and clients and a welldesigned staff dining room that seats 300. Is the latter in the basement like many staff cafeterias, in windowless office towers (where you are unable to open windows anywhere anyhow)? No. This dining room is on the 18th floor and provides a panoramic view of Bangkok; the windows actually open and a door leads lunchers to the balcony outside. We really should incorporate some of these innovations here.

Regardless of whether you see what this may mean to our future we have to accept the fact that Japan, this year, will invest three times more per capita in new factories, robots and machinery than the United States. Canada isn't on the charts as far as robot involvement is concerned. More information: "Inside The Robot Kingdom" by Frederik L. Schodt.

Published by Kodansha International Ltd. and distributed through Harper & Row.

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