Pepper the Japanese robot performs funerals for people who can't afford a human priest

Pepper is going where no robot has (probably) gone before.

The cost of funerals in Japan is skyrocketing into the millions of yen, or upwards of $30,000. So for the past two years, Pepper has been dressing up as a priest and performing the ceremonies for far, far less, Vox notes in an article published Monday.

Pepper is indeed a robot, and a not incredibly human-like one at that. He (it?) is short, shiny, and pure white, with huge black iris and tiny white dots for pupils. He holds a touch screen on his chest, which he uses to "engage with people through conversation" and sense people's emotions, his creator SoftBank Robotics says. That makes him perfect for guiding tourists and, apparently, performing funerals.

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As The Japan Times reported in August 2017, Pepper's going rate is around $450 per funeral. That's far less than a cash offering most families would make to a Buddhist priest. Pepper wears Buddhist robes during his service, chants sutras, bows at the correct moments, and even makes it possible to livestream the ceremonies. And he's just a small part of the growing number of robots taking over the religious world. Read more it about at Vox.