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More strange love from the archipelago of Japan.
By Tom Miller — Written on May 20, 2020
As you may know, I'm sort of obsessed with technology. And not useful types of technology like social media, i-Products or digital watches.
Rather, I like flying cars, large Hadron colliders and robots. I am a total nerd for robots. Robots are very strong and made of metal.
And, unlike unicorns, their programming forbids them from acting illogically or countering to a specific set of behaviors (think Robocop's fourth directive)... unless an unforeseen agent introduces a corrupting factor or it becomes sentient and a sense of self-preservation develops.
But let's not be homosapien chauvinist pigs and start a campaign of fear that robots are going to take our jobs, our spouses and grind our bones to dust.
Before the next logical step of humans "romancing" and eventually marrying robots, we'll first have them perform other jobs in and around love, in order that they may become accustomed to human emotions and the nature of romance.
These jobs may eventually include wedding cake icer, flower girl and priest. In fact, there's video evidence that a Japanese couple has already been married by a robot. That's right. In 2010, Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue were married by I-Fairy.
No, I-Fairy was not an up-and-coming rapper. She was a four-foot-tall robot with pigtails.
The nuptials took place in Hibiya Park, Toyko and I-Fairy was properly decked out for the occasion with a flowered wreath adorning her pigtails. There was also a man behind her, who was putting commands into a computer.
"Please lift the bride's veil," I-Fairy said, waving her tiny metal arms in the air. This sounds more like the beginning to a science fiction movie than an actual real-life wedding, but I digress.
The bride and groom both have careers in the field of robotics. Inoue works at Kokoro, a company that specializes in making robots and androids who are lifelike.
She said, "This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purpose."
However, Shibata, who is a robotics professor, thought I-Fairy's officiating skills could use some work. He said, "It would be nice if the robot was a bit more clever, but she is very good at expressing herself."
She's doing her best! I mean, officiating a wedding is a big responsibilty to take on, especially if you've never done it before like I-Fairy.
Evidently, through hook or crook (but most likely articulated robo-arm), the robot actually brought the two together in the first place. With matchmaker and officiator under its electro-belt, DJ and bartender can't be too far off for I-Fairy.
Oh, and if you're looking for I-Fairy to officiate your own nuptials, you can purchase one of your own... for $68,000. But you may want to get a real live human to officiate. I mean, you do still have to actually be ordained to legitimately marry someone.
Tom Miller is a writer and performer based in New York. He's been the general manager and coordinating video producer at YourTango for 12 years. His side-chick is acting and improvised comedy.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on May 2010 and was updated with the latest information.