Japan auf dem Weg zu einer Roboter-Gesellschaft? Visionen und Realitäten am Beispiel der Pflegerobotik

Abstract

In this interview, Cosima Wagner reflects on her observations about robot technological visions and development in Japan in the last decades. In particular, she traces the changes to a so-called “technological optimism” (especially in social robot technology) and the turning point of the 2011 triple disaster which provided a stark reality check. While drawing from her recent fieldwork in care and welfare settings as part of an interdisciplinary team researching technological empowerment, she presents concerned voices from medical staff about so-called “care robots”. Contrary to the much-propagated image of Japan as a “robot loving nation”, she points out the distortion between technological development and the needs of the real world (genba), as well as the importance of participatory technology development.