#bryan lufkin

[indizombie]

It’s not just Japan that is undergoing the kind of societal changes that have contributed to ohitorisama (party of one). As birth rates slump, marriage ages climb and populations age, many nations are seeing a rise in those leading single lives. Euromonitor International, an independent London-based market research company, released a study last year that estimates a record 128% growth in single-person households worldwide between 2000 and 2030. “A ‘super solo society’, characterised by young people who never get married and the elderly who become single again after being widowed, will be the future of all countries, not only Japan,” says Arakawa. “It is no longer practical to focus a business solely on families.”

Bryan Lufkin, ‘The rise of Japan's 'super solo' culture’, BBC

[indizombie]

Hiroshi Ishiguro, the Osaka University roboticist, says we’ll see other cute, communicative robots in places like hotel rooms or restaurants (where touch-screen menus are already commonplace in Japan) to assist guests in other languages. Meanwhile, government initiatives continue: last year, robots began to be rolled out in 500 classrooms across Japan to help teach English after a 250m yen ($2.3m) investment from the Education Ministry. That could, in turn, help Japan’s younger generation grow up at ease with robots in a variety of environments. Ishiguro believes that they will integrate into our lives the same way smartphones did a decade ago. “Not just Japan will have more robots, but the whole world,” he predicts.

Bryan Lufkin, 'What the world can learn from Japan’s robots', BBC

[indizombie]

One area that needs workers is housekeeping services. With more pensioners and fewer workers, demand for in-house caregivers and cleaners is on the rise. That’s why Mira Robotics has also created a butler robot that can do simple tasks like wash dishes, fold clothes and vacuum, which are actually quite complex tasks for a robot. "In other countries, like Hong Kong, the solution is to have more immigrants, but it’s not a perfect solution,” says Mira’s Ken Matsui. “Japan is quite domestic-oriented, and we don’t accept many immigrants, so robots are more suitable."

Bryan Lufkin, 'What the world can learn from Japan’s robots', BBC

[indizombie]

Whether Japan will lead a ‘robots in the workforce’ revolution remains unclear. Rian Whitton, senior robotics analyst at global tech market advisory firm ABI Research, points out that China and the US, for example, are quickly catching up to Japan in areas like homecare robotics. “Ultimately, Japan is going to go from the top vendor for robotics globally, as it used to be, to being a relatively strong player alongside Germany, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan,” he says. “[Japan] will lose influence relative to the Chinese and American robotics ecosystems.” Yet in Japan’s favour is its very long history of embracing robots, not fearing them. In the West, pop culture and media often frame robots as job-stealing Terminators itching to start a revolution. In Japan, they’re often cute and cuddly; anime and manga have depicted robots as things to love. Others point to a respect for inanimate objects that’s rooted in Shintosim. Another factor is ingrained resistance to immigration, despite the recent moves to allow more foreign workers in. As Japan’s workforce ages and shrinks, employers will struggle to fill low-wage jobs in retail or food service, for example. That’s prompted domestic calls to embrace robotics, with headlines like “Graying Japan wants automation, not immigration.”

Bryan Lufkin, 'What the world can learn from Japan’s robots', BBC

[ihearthings]

But of the Big Three kids' cable networks, one doesn't seem keen on playing the fame game. Cartoon Network—which has seen double-digit growth in the last year and ranks no. 1 with boys age 6 to 11 on all of television—boasts lots of wacky animation and fantasy-rooted live-action shows. No secret stage identities or synth-heavy dance numbers here. Instead, you'll find a shape-shifting dog named Jake living in a post-apocalyptic world in the cartoon Adventure Time and a portal that sends videogame characters into reality in the live-action Level Up. Also: a Looney Toons reboot and the latest Pokémon series. There's also The Amazing World of Gumball, starring a mischievous cat and his pet goldfish, which grew legs after radiation exposure. Finally, The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange, based on the Internet meme of an anthropomorphic citrus, debuted earlier this month, winning Cartoon Network the primetime 8:30 p.m. slot's highest ratings among all boys, plus all kids age 2 to 11, 6 to 11, and 9 to14.

Bryan Lufkin, "The 'Hannah Montana' Effect: Why Are So Many Kids' TV Shows About Fame?", The Atlantic (I want to watch ALL OF THESE.)