Too kawaii to live, too sugoi to die.

Exactly two moods: grumpy snark, and hysterical screaming

Needs his friend to explain everything he says

Secretly planning to bring down the government

So I miiiiight have been researching Sony Aibos because some kind of aibo/aibo plush with AR glasses miiight be a thing I need in my life (and thanks so much for that weird compulsion, @snarp, @codedredalert).   And I came across this fascinating article about people in Japan trying to care for their robot pets now that Sony has stopped offering support for them.  The owners have meet ups where they help each other with programming and repairr advice.  Failing joints are a big problem.  A repair person in Chiba, that started taking on cases after desperate please from owners “has begun collecting broken Aibos from owners who have died, in the hope that their remains can be used to help keep other robots running.” And I think this is just such a fascinating inversion of the more typical ‘immortal robot’/‘transient humans’ stories.  It really makes me want to see more of this stuff in fics:

Pet/companion robots that are no longer supported by their manufacturers and their human friends’ frantic efforts to keep them mobile and functioning.

Human-robot communities that evolve around group-sourcing parts and repairs and work-arounds and strategies for improving quality-of-life for non-supported robots.

Robots that are chimeras of the functioning parts of several failing robots, and have to navigate their new meshed identities and now tangled interpersonal relationships.

Robots that get their programming jury-rigged into newer systems they weren’t really designed for and have to deal with glitches and malfunctions and dysphoria.  Robots that still don’t have official technical support from manufacturers because they’re unapproved modifications.  

Robots struggling with whether they should they let parts of themselves be re-written to better fit their new bodies.

Lines of robots that suddenly have finite lifespans because a necessary part can’t be made or replaced anymore

or: Robots that suddenly have finite populations, because new robots can only be made by taking that limited part from old robots, and now they have to decide whether they want to be static immortals or turn over through new and better generations like biological beings.  

Robot cultures that mix both approaches.  

Robot cultures that are furiously divided on the topic.

robots who are afraid of being repaired under warranty, because they think outside repairpeople won’t be as willing to reset them as their manufacturers

robots learning to repair themselves, even though it wasn’t something they were programmed to do

robots learning to repair other robots, because they have friends who need repairs they can’t do on their own

robots and humans who specialize in making custom parts for robots who can’t get replacements in stores

robots who were limited-run or prototypes and never had widely-available parts

unique-looking robots being treated more like people than mass-produced robots with similar programming, because they stand out, but not having the same access to repairs

robot cultures that hold it’s better to die than have your memory reset, and others who hold that having a functioning body is more important

Greeting cards by BeckaGriffin on Etsy

theelderscrotes:

when u gently put ur ear close to ur cat and u hear their motor running…. thats a fine engine, no problems here