Japan is often the first place wacky, unusual robots debut. People I’ve talked to usually cite two reasons that Japan is robocenter of the world: a longstanding gadget obsession and a tendency to regard inanimate objects as things to respect and appreciate (more so than other cultures).

One type of robot Japan focuses on is assistive bots to comfort and entertain elderly. One of the most well-known of these is Paro the Seal, a furry, lap-dog-sized imitation of a baby seal that moves and makes noises (using live baby seal recordings) in response to sounds, sensations, light, temperature, and a person’s posture. While Paro has been selling in Japan for years, it has just become available in the US this year for about $6,000.

The company call Paro a “mental commit robot for psychological enrichment” and claims that it has the same psychological benefits as a real pet (lowering blood pressure, for example), but without the hassles. The company targets lonely elders and those with dementia and other disorders; some critics say it’s merely a distraction and a poor replacement for real human contact and that may do more harm than good for people who are mentally impaired.

An assisted living facility full of elderly residents stroking their Paros isn’t exactly reassuring. If, on one hand, it brings a person comfort (as some of the companies’ studies suggest), then why not use it? What disturbs me is the parallel between children and the elderly (“go entertain yourself with this toy”) as well as the toy’s therapeutic overtones. To market it less as a function of casual entertainment, but as something designed to fill the gap of loneliness where friends and family ought to be, seems to be misleading.

We know tech can make our lives easier and more convenient in many ways, but when it comes to emotional connectivity, I don’t think any automaton—no matter how clever or cute—can suffice as a healthy substitute for contact with people. Perhaps instead of spending so much money on Paros, family members can use that money to travel and visit more frequently, or facilities could use it to hire additional and well-trained attendees.

The growing field of roboethics looks for ways to address issues such as these. As robotics is quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing fields and perhaps will prove as life-altering as the computer revolution, we need to monitor human safety, physical and emotional, and predict the benefits and consequences of supplementing (or replacing) human contact with automated devices.

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