Paro

This chapter addresses Paro, a robot shaped like a seal pup marketed as a therapeutic communication device. The concepts underlying Paro have deep roots in a broader intellectual ferment of ideas about therapy, communication, and their digitalization—and, in particular, about iyashi (healing or relaxation) and keichō (active listening). Like other iyashi products, Paro represents commercialized affective interaction, but as a robot, it also reconfigures communication as a mechanically and digitally reproducible, scalable, commodified, and one-sided form of therapy. When Paro was introduced at Sakura nursing home in late March 2016, it quickly proved popular. However, contrary to the manager's hope that the use of Paro would reduce the repetitious demands of some residents with dementia, this did not prove to be the case. In fact, using Paro ended up creating new challenges for care staff. It risked disruption to the institutional flow, evoked strong affective reactions from residents with dementia, and led to a degree of withdrawal from the communal social world of the care home.