The robot named Pepper, a creation of the company SoftBank Mobile, is the most recent achievement in robotics in the field of “home services”. Pepper is designed to coexist with humans in homes, but don’t rush. It doesn’t cook, it doesn’t clean, and it doesn’t place orders at the supermarket. Pepper has emotional relationship “assets” (i.e. software). According to its manufacturers, it recognizes human emotions and intervenes (with speech, movements, advice, jokes) according to the situation. In other words, Pepper was created to be a “robotic friend”…
Pepper has already started being sold in Japan, at the very affordable price of $1600 plus $380 per month, as rent. The first 1000 Pepper units were sold in 1 minute during the promotional pre-sale last June.
Paradoxically or not, the purchase contract includes a term prohibiting the “sexual treatment” of the robot. Sexual relationship with a robot? Could its emotional capacity trigger unacceptable reflexes in “burned-out” minds? And how would the company find out? Do robots have “secret” communication with their manufacturer?
It’s possible. For better or worse, until “romantic companion” robots are built (they are already being designed), the owners of Pepper (and anything similar) should follow the manual: only friends!!