Buddhist temple uses China robot to dispense wisdom

Robots and artificial intelligence are not typically thought to have come so far that they have discovered the meaning of life. Longquan Temple’s Xian’er robot has a response if you ask, though. The answer is apparently “to help more people finally leave behind bitterness and gain happiness.”

Longquan Temple is a place of worship for Buddhists located northwest of Beijing. There has been online buzz about the temple’s robot monk for several months, but recent publicity and an article in the the New York Times have piqued the interest of more people. The temple has no plans to commercialize the robot, according to the Times, but the style and capability of Xian’er are representative of what has been happening in China’s robot market recently.

Xian’er is based on a comic book character designed in 2014 for the temple’s Comic Center. It has a screen on its chest, allowing people another way to interact with the robot. Xian’er also has a WeChat account, enabling its AI to reach millions who might want answers to their existential questions.

Longquan Temple might not be selling robot monks, but Xian’er is similar to other robots from companies around China. The Times reported that Xian’er was created in a collaboration among “about a dozen [China] technology, culture and investment companies.” This probably means Xian’er has more money behind its development than most robots rolling around showroom floors in China.

Currently, the market continues to target educational uses for robots. This has resulted in units such as Xibot from Shenzhen Xiaoxi Technology. The company showed off this machine at the Global Sources Mobile Electronics show in April. Like similar interactive robots, it has an LCD touchscreen that allows users to play games and see requested information. Xibot and its accompanying apps are designed for children, so it is probably not ready to start offering postulates for the meaning of life. Still, educational robots remain very feasible.