Progress has come so far: a robot preacher works in a Japanese temple

Robotics and artificial intelligence technologies are developing rapidly. It is probably difficult to find a sphere of human activity where modern technologies have not yet been applied. Religion remained the last bastion, but it also succumbed to progress. In 2019, the ancient Kodai-ji Temple in Kyoto acquired an unusual preacher - an android named Mindar. This robot reads Buddhist sutras and helps to attract attention to religion in the digital age.

Android Mindar is a humanoid robot created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka University. During his work on the project, the scientist was assisted by monks from the 400-year-old Kodai-ji Temple, which is located in the historical district of Kyoto. The robot's appearance was created with a reference to the image of the bodhisattva Kannon, who personifies compassion in Buddhism.

The robot has an aluminum body with silicone inserts on the face, arms and shoulders. The creators believe that such details make its appearance more human. It can move its head, arms and torso, and also folds its palms for the traditional gesture of prayer. The robot's left eye has a camera built into it that fixes its gaze on the listeners. Due to this, the effect of eye contact with believers occurs.

Mindar delivers 25-minute sermons in Japanese based on the Heart Sutra, one of the key texts of Buddhism. The speeches are accompanied by multimedia, with images projected onto the walls of the hall and subtitles in English and Chinese.

The robot speaks in a soft, slightly feminine voice. The main themes of its sermons are compassion, emptiness and overcoming egoism. In an interview with journalists, monk Tensho Goto explained why the temple needs an android. According to him, Mindar was not created to replace people, but to attract young people and those who have distanced themselves from religion.

The construction of the 1.95-meter-tall, 60-kg android began in 2017. The development was carried out in the robotics laboratory of Osaka University. The total budget of the project was $909,090 (RUB 71.4 million). Mindar was publicly presented at a ceremony in March 2019.

With interest in Buddhism waning in Japan, the temple hopes that using technology will help bring Buddha's teachings to new audiences. The robot can also store and update information, making it an "immortal" preacher. Its creator, Mindara, believes that its storytelling capabilities are invaluable.

Receptions of Mindar are mixed. Some visitors note that his sermons are thought-provoking and his appearance and movements seem surprisingly human. Others find him “too mechanical” and feel uncomfortable communicating with a machine in a spiritual context.

Western visitors are particularly critical of the robot preacher. They constantly come up with nicknames for Mindara, including offensive ones. The smart machine is called by different names: from a "talking coffee maker" to a "chatty Frankenstein." Some consider this approach almost sacrilege and believe that androids that read sermons should be banned.

Mindara’s project prompts us to consider the role of technology in spiritual life. Can machines convey spiritual truths as effectively as humans? Or are human experience and empathy still indispensable in religious practice?