I watched a little robot called Lovot waddle across the stage this morning.
Round body. Wide eyes. Built to be held close and make you feel less alone.
The crowd leaned forward. I did too.
The theme of the day was human acceptance of robots. Before we get to acceptance, I think we need to ask something earlier: why are we bringing robots into our society in the first place?
Lovot provides comfort. Emotional presence. Loneliness is real.
The root problem runs deeper than loneliness, though.
Humans are wired for community. Real connection with other people, with animals, with the world outside. Everything we've built for modern convenience has been quietly pulling us away from that.
So Lovot is arriving into a real gap. The question is what it does there.
Does it close the gap, pointing people back toward each other, animals, the world outside? Or does it fill the gap, giving people a substitute that makes the seeking stop?
Human relationships require friction. The bond doesn't form in the easy moments. It forms in the repair after conflict, in the pushing through.
Same with animals. A dog that pushes back, ignores you, tests the relationship. Working through that is what deepens it. Horses are the same. The resistance is where the trust lives.
A robot that cuddles on demand skips all of that. Is Lovot helping people through that friction, or giving them a way to route around it?
I don't know which one Lovot does. That's the honest answer.
There are people for whom something like this makes sense. People who can't access community right now, or aren't there yet. I understand that.
The moment it becomes the reason not to seek out real relationships, that's where I have a problem.
Does the robot move people toward other people, animals, and nature, or away from them?
That's the test.
What's the robot test you'd apply?
Lead within. Lead your pack.
Chigusa.