Robots a useful stand-in for jittery spouse hunters

TOKYO: The Contents innovation Program (CiP) Association, a Minato Ward, Tokyo-based foundation that seeks to develop artificial intelligence, robotics and other technologies, organised an event to help those lacking confidence in their conversation skills to casually participate in their search for a spouse.

The “robot marriage-hunting party”, held at a hotel in Minato Ward last Saturday, gathered 28 men and women aged 25 to 39 and let them talk to each other through robots.

Ahead of the event, participants answered questions on 45 subjects.

Event organisers devised conversation material based on the responses, which they then used to programme a cadre of miniature robots. The robots made three-minute self-introductions on behalf of the participants.

Results for the event were announced on Tuesday and four new couples were formed.

Participants praised the experience with comments such as “Thanks to the robot, I wasn’t really nervous” and “It was easy because the robot explained everything about me and I didn’t have to say anything during multiple interactions”.

Ryunosuke Takahashi, CiP executive director, said: “Robots can create opportunities even for people who aren’t good at speaking, and are proven to be an efficient method for marriage hunting.”