south korea has, for the first time, held a buddhist ceremony featuring a humanoid robot. the robot, named “gabi,” took part in the ritual alongside monks on the eve of the buddha’s birthday celebration at jogyesa temple in seoul.
the 130-centimeter-tall robot is dressed in traditional monastic robes and was developed by the chinese company unitree robotics. during the ceremony, it joined the other monks in pressing its palms together in prayer and paying homage.
in addition, the robot participated in a purification ritual. in the traditional incense-burning ceremony, the incense burner is placed in the robot’s palm; in this instance, however, a special marker was affixed to its arm, and a rosary consisting of 108 beads was placed around its neck.
to ensure that the robot also adheres to buddhist precepts, the research team specifically used chatbots such as gemini and chatgpt to tailor a set of the buddhist “five precepts” for it. these precepts include: respecting life; refraining from harming other robots or objects; obeying humans; avoiding lies; and conserving energy and preventing overcharging.
in late may, gabi will appear at the lantern festival alongside other robots named “socha,” “moshi,” and “nisa.”
