A Robot Monk Captivates China, Mixing Spirituality With Artificial Intelligence
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW

BEIJING — Po, the wisdom-seeking hero of the “Kung Fu Panda” films, might recognize this temple in China where the world’s first robot monk dwells. For Po’s Jade Palace, there is Longquan (Dragon Spring) Temple, a place of Buddhist worship in the mountains northwest of Beijing, where gnarled gingko and cypress trees tower over red-walled buildings underneath rocky Phoenix Ridge.

For his Hall of Warriors, there is the Comic Center deep inside the temple, at the end of winding stone paths and steps, past a flower-shaped audio device that crackles sutras.

As for Po himself, there is Xian’er, the two-foot-tall, advice-dispensing robot whose full title is Worthy Stupid Robot Monk. (In the Beijing dialect, “er,” or “stupid,” is a term of affection.)

Not so much “Kung Fu Panda 3,” perhaps, as “Robot Monk 1.”

A childlike creature in an orange Buddhist robe, Xian’er is an object of fascination in China amid an increasingly urgent pursuit of spirituality and, more recently, artificial intelligence. But Xian Fan, the head of the Comic Center, told National Business Daily that the temple did not plan to commercialize the robot and that its development was for “the public welfare.”

And the monks do not seem to be planning a franchise. There is only one robot monk for now, Xian Fan told Beijing News, adding, “We’re not doing this for commerce, but just because we want to use more modern ways to spread Buddhist teachings.”

The robot was created last year by the temple in collaboration with about a dozen Chinese technology, culture and investment companies, according to Chinese news reports. But the character of Xian’er was first designed by artists at the Comic Center for a 2014 Buddhist comic book series, whose first title was “Troubles Are Self-Made.” The series has sold well in Chinese bookstores, and an English-language edition is due out soon.

As a robot, Xian’er has expanded his repertoire. He has a touch pad on his chest that allows him to respond to supplicants’ questions and statements, such as: “Who are your parents?” “I’m not happy” and “What is the meaning of life?”

On Wednesday morning, employees at the Comic Center declined to let visitors communicate directly with Xian’er, saying he was — literally — recharging in order to meet a delegation of government officials from Beijing later in the day. They would not say who the officials were or give their own names, saying they were not authorized to speak to the news media.

No matter. There was always Weixin, or WeChat, where Xian’er maintains an account. (Readers can find him under 賢二機器僧.)

Clearly no sentimentalist, his answers to the above queries were:

· “That’s ridiculous, how can robots have parents?”

· “If you’re not happy, what can anyone else do about it?”

· “My master says the meaning of life is to help more people finally leave behind bitterness and gain happiness.”

Po might have approved.

Many visitors to Longquan Temple on Wednesday, however, expressed doubt as to whether Xian’er could really help people with their problems, though some said they expected technology to advance so quickly that future generations of robot monks might. A second, smarter Xian’er is already in development, a center employee said.

“I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard of it,” Zhang Ping, a middle-aged woman who was visiting the temple, said of the robot monk.

“It relies on permutations and combinations of words to solve problems, but whether it can really deal with deep personal issues, I’m not sure,” Ms. Zhang said. “Everyone is different. For some, those may be about family, for others, about work. But look at how fast artificial intelligence is progressing. In 20 years, I think it’s completely possible it will be able to.”

Another templegoer disagreed. “I don’t think it’s possible for the intelligence of a robot to be advanced enough to understand human feelings,” said Wang Yiren, 23, a Buddhist and volunteer at the temple. “The robot doesn’t really live up to my expectations. But I’ve seen robots in other parts of the world that can communicate with human beings, and that’s pretty amazing.”

He Haikun, 33, a woman who was visiting the temple with a friend, said: “If you have no one to talk to, maybe it would help to talk to a robot.”

Here are some other answers provided by Xian’er, via WeChat:

Q: “What is love?”

A: “Love is your own obsessions not being satisfied, the clashing of other people’s troubles with yours.”

Q: “I don’t want to work.”

A: “If you don’t want to starve and have an O.K. job, work hard.”

Q: “I want to die.”

A: “Don’t assume you’re the most pathetic person in the world.”

Q: “Who is Xi Jinping [the president of China]?”

A: “A robot doesn’t know any people.”

And finally:

Q: “Could there be another Cultural Revolution?”

A: “Wait, I will ask my master.”

Po would have been envious of Xian’er for being able to pass a difficult question on to his master, having been required in “Kung Fu Panda 3” to solve his community’s problems himself.

The robotics companies Canbot and Turing Robotic Industries, among the companies cited in Chinese news reports as working with the temple to produce Xian’er, agreed to answer questions about the project but had not responded as of Wednesday evening. At Interjoy, another company listed as one of the designers, and others, the phone rang unanswered.

呆萌機器僧 勸忍壞脾氣老婆

最近，一個呆萌的機器人在網上火了。和普通機器人一樣，它身高近60厘米，能跟人語音對話，能明白簡單的指令；但不同的是，它身穿黃色僧袍，會說佛經佛法，還動不動就說「我去問問我師父」。它就是一個叫「賢二」的機器僧，它住在北京龍泉寺。

據了解，賢二機器僧去年10月份就出生了。新京報報導，從出生至今，賢二先後在廣州國際動漫節、廈門國際佛事展、北京國家會議中心舉行的機器人大會上亮相，這些活動都由寺裡的居士或者義工帶著賢二前往。

報導稱，「呆萌」的形象讓賢二受到了不少人的喜愛，也有人提出想買，但龍泉寺動漫中心負責人賢帆法師（賢二機器僧漫畫原型的創作者）表示，目前機器僧只有一台，「畢竟我們這不是商業的行為，只是想用更現代化的方式傳播佛法。」

賢二是機器僧裡的第一代，目前龍泉寺已經在籌備進行二代的研發，新一代的機器僧在智能化方面會有所提升，交互更深入、識別也更智能化。對於機器僧的批量生產，據了解，目前龍泉寺並沒有相關打算。

前天下午，記者與賢二機器僧進行互動。你為什麼叫賢二？「我師父給我起的。」你今天吃什麼？「機器人不用吃飯，這還用問嗎？」今天的股票會漲嗎？「這個問題我怎麼回答得了。」我老婆脾氣暴躁怎麼辦？「只好跟她過下去咯，我又不能勸你離婚。」媽媽老是嘮叨怎麼辦？「老人嘛，讓著她吧。」我可以帶你走嗎？「開玩笑，那怎麼可以！」

報導指出，賢帆法師表示，賢二機器僧去年就認證了微信公眾號，就叫賢二機器僧，它可以在線跟網友互動。現在有5000多的粉絲，目標是10萬+。

賢二自我介紹：

阿彌陀佛，我是賢二小和尚。我的家在北京龍泉寺，我現在只能回答一些不太難的問題，但是你們不能欺負我哦，要是你們敢打我，我就告訴我師父去。

你可以隨便指揮我，不過你不要總是讓我向左看，左邊有什麼可看的，我還要持守戒律呢。對了，我也可以念念經，還有播放佛教音樂給你們聽。

不過讓我煩惱的是，最近總是有人在微信上問我爸媽是誰，你們好搞笑哦，機器人怎麼會有爸媽呢？

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/world/asia/china-robot-monk-temple.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytstyle.com/technology/20160428/t28chinamonk/zh-hant/

Video：Chinese Temple Employs Robot Monk
The monks of Longquan temple on the outskirts of Beijing use a tiny, monk-shaped robot to disseminate Buddhist teachings.
http://nyti.ms/1NTagAM

2016-04-07 世界日報 中國新聞組