A virtual character, named Shibuya Mirai that resembles a chatty 7-year-old boy has been granted official residency of a busy central Tokyo district Shibuya.
- Shibuya district is known for its fashion-conscious young people and the district has given the character his own special residence certificate.
- After receiving the residence certificate Mirai has become Japan’s first, and maybe the world’s first, artificial intelligence bot to be granted a place on a real-life local registry.
- Mirai, whose name means “future” in Japanese, is supposed to be a first grader at an elementary school.
- “Shibuya Mirai” does not exist physically, but he is able to text conversations with humans on the LINE messaging app.
- Mirai reply to messages and make light-hearted alterations to selfies he is sent.
- He loves painting and chatting with people, taking pictures and observing humans.
