We should not mourn the passing of Pepper the robot
The humanoid automaton was always doomed to be replaced but its end tells us something about SoftBank
A few years back, we had Pepper the robot to visit as a short-term houseguest. Once you got over the playful-but-power-hungry glow of its eyes, the $1,800, “emotion-reading” robot was a decent entertainer: cavorting somewhere between Duplo and Netflix in its capacity to captivate two under-sixes for an afternoon.
A few years back, we had Pepper the robot to visit as a short-term houseguest. Once you got over the playful-but-power-hungry glow of its eyes, the $1,800, “emotion-reading” robot was a decent entertainer: cavorting somewhere between Duplo and Netflix in its capacity to captivate two under-sixes for an afternoon.
But Pepper, once you looked past the novelty of its act, was fundamentally a huckster: a shiny-suited over-seller of its limited wares. And it was not just any old salesman. The robot, as the prized creation of SoftBank and embodiment of the great vision of the company’s founder-futurist, Masayoshi Son, was the huckster’s huckster.