Tokyo first to grant residency to an AI bot
The boy does not exist physically but can have text conversations with humans
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO:
An AI character was made an official resident of a busy central Tokyo district on Saturday, with the virtual newcomer resembling a chatty seven-year-old boy.
The boy named "Shibuya Mirai" does not exist physically, but he can have text conversations with humans on the widely used LINE messaging app.
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Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, an area popular with fashion-conscious young people, has given the character his own special residence certificate.
This makes him Japan's first, and maybe the world's first, artificial intelligence bot to be granted a place on a real-life local registry.
Mirai, whose name means 'future' in Japanese, is supposed to be a first grader at an elementary school. He can reply to messages and make light-hearted alterations to selfies he is sent.
Shibuya said the project aimed to make the district's local government more familiar to residents and allow officials to hear their opinions.
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"His hobbies are taking pictures and observing people. And he loves talking with people... Please talk to him about anything," the ward said in a statement with Microsoft, the joint developer of the AI character.
An AI character was made an official resident of a busy central Tokyo district on Saturday, with the virtual newcomer resembling a chatty seven-year-old boy.
The boy named "Shibuya Mirai" does not exist physically, but he can have text conversations with humans on the widely used LINE messaging app.
In a first, Saudi Arabia grants citizenship to robot 'Sophia'
Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, an area popular with fashion-conscious young people, has given the character his own special residence certificate.
This makes him Japan's first, and maybe the world's first, artificial intelligence bot to be granted a place on a real-life local registry.
Mirai, whose name means 'future' in Japanese, is supposed to be a first grader at an elementary school. He can reply to messages and make light-hearted alterations to selfies he is sent.
Shibuya said the project aimed to make the district's local government more familiar to residents and allow officials to hear their opinions.
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"His hobbies are taking pictures and observing people. And he loves talking with people... Please talk to him about anything," the ward said in a statement with Microsoft, the joint developer of the AI character.