Japanese society has been described as a homogeneous society--lacking, suspicious, distrustful of difference. Whats more, there is interesting research on socia

Japanese society has been described as a homogeneous society--lacking, suspicious, distrustful of difference. Whats more, there is interesting research on social psycholgy of Wheat People vs. Rice People [1]: "[Rice People] are more likely to understand themselves as interwoven with other people — as interdependent, not independent. In such social worlds, your goal is to fit in and adjust yourself to others, not to stand out." With this social distinction in mind I am of a mind to think Japanese society's fear response to robots is a dialog or binary opposition. Humans who act like robots vs robots who act like humans. Personally, I'm not fearful of robots who act human. I'm fearful of robot actors shaping human society in their image while being controled by a new class of technological oligarchs. Humans dominating humans through robot proxy. The truest statement in this Wired article occurs at the start: "The Western concept of “humanity” is limited, and I think it’s time to seriously question whether we have the right to exploit the environment, animals, tools, or robots simply because we’re human and they are not." The author _sets us up_ with this self-recflection of human hubris, and then launches into a love letter of Japanese social acceptance of a nostalgic cartoon character Astroboy. Fooey! [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/opinion/why-are-some-cultures-more-individualistic-than-others.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/opinion/why-are-some-cult...