Circa 2019
On February 28, at “New National Theater” in Tokyo, Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University announced the new model of the android “Alter” 「オルタ３」. The robot performed a fragment of the “Scary Beauty” android opera by Keiichiro Shibuya.
Alter 3 is part of a new Artificial Life (Alife) research project. The goal is to explore the future of human communication, and new forms of entertainment. Mixi Corporation, Tokyo National University, Osaka University, and Warner Music Japan Co. Ltd are behind the project.
A challenge of this research is to answer fundamental questions such as whether the robot can acquire a view of life on its own by interaction with the outside world, and through this, what is life.