Synopsis

The Human Robot explores the boundary between biological and mechanical intelligence through interviews with sociologists, roboticists, ethicists, and philosophers. Asking "how human is too human?" in regards to robot design, the film focuses primarily on Japanese culture and their positive attitude towards technology in contrast to Western culture's tendency towards fearing intelligent machines. The filmmakers showcase a wide variety of intelligent robot designs, from the flashy and entertaining automatons of Tokyo's Robot Restaurant and the dog-like Aibo robotic pet, to the hyper-real Geminoid designs that mimic their human counterparts with great accuracy. Androids are shown to already be quite prevalent in Japanese society where they hold positions as receptionists, retail sales clerks, and even news bulletin reporters.