Robots used to perform funerals in Japan

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When experts predicted that robots will take most of our jobs in the next few decades, priests were probably among the least concerned humans on the planet. After all, machines and spirituality don’t exactly go hand in hand. But one Japanese company is showing everyone that no job is safe, with a line of “Buddhist robots” that can perform funeral services at a fraction of the cost demanded by human priests.


Pepper, a humanoid robot developed by SoftBank Robotics, has taken on several jobs since it hit the market two years ago. Advertised as the first robot capable of reading human emotions, it has been deployed to banks, sushi shops and nursing homes, where it acts as a receptionist, identifying visitors with its facial recognition software, offering information or just chatting to people.

But the robot’s creators have recently come up with another job for it – Buddhist priest for clients looking to cut down on funeral costs.

Nissei Eco, a company that has been involved in the funeral business since 2000, recently launched a new campaign targeting budget-conscious customers that don’t mind having a robot chanting mantras and reciting sutras, instead of a human priest. The incentive is quite attractive, as a funeral service performed by a Buddhist robot is priced at just $460, significantly cheaper than having a real priest do it, reddit.com, reports.




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