Japanese Scientists Build Pop Star; Fans Devastated

Fourthing the "This is cool" comments.

That was exactly the plot of S1m0ne.

Pixel Perfect. Just the same. Only for real.

At first I wondered if this was legal. ;p Tearing young idols apart and Frankensteining them onto one face. The horror!

If it wasn't already a movie then you could make a movie out of it.

@Eternal: Well except that the attempt to reveal that in the film fails...

This is actually awesome, and another reason I want to live in Japan.

First, robot pop stars, next I want a bodyguard made out of a tree! But fireproof!

But I don't know Japanese and I'm not sure if I can ever learn.

So why is everyone complaining?

The old complaints about manufactured talent and deception. ;p

...I suppose that taking girls apart and putting them back together into something that you assert is a human being may be a bit problematic though. Even less Frankensteiny because it's just CG and none of the girls are even dead yet.

First robotic humans, now we must attempt resurrection and invincibility.

How is this any different then auto tuning and over production, photoshopping pictures, and what not?

Japan just made it clear. So what?

I think it's a wake up call to fans that will most likely be missed.

Nice necro on this topic, by the by. It's odd seeing my old posts and thinking "what a tool."

^ Mostly in the "frankensteining" of several people together, I'd imagine.

edited 22nd Dec '11 7:18:53 AM by AllanAssiduity

Wow. I should go back and see if Howard Tayler had a response to this; I knew he flipped out when he found out about the Hatsune Miku concerts, considering the early years of his comic.

Miku's different—she's one voice manufactured into one major icon.

Aimi's a voice and a face made from several idols and masquerading as a person. ;p

And while I normally sympathize with constructed people...that's an iffy way to do it.

So wait, does this mean Eguchi Aimi qualifies as a Fusion Dance or Biological Mash Up? *ducks*

Both—the former is a subtrope of the latter.

Pretty cool, in a rather deranged way.

But I must ask... Japanese scientists? Unless I am misreading something, this was a clever marketing of well-established technologies, not some sort of novel technological or scientific achievement...

Also, her photo◊ looks more than a little creepy. That mouth... gah.

edited 22nd Dec '11 2:42:35 PM by Carciofus

In our next episode, we find out that Justin Bieber is a cyborg, and teen girls line up to get the newest in fashionable cybernetic implants, kicking off the cyberpunk era.

Supposed to be Post Cyber Punk. It's looking at the good things.

And it is so scientific! It's testing the public to see if they'd buy into it.

I did get some Uncanny Valley feeling after I saw her...but that may have been because I already knew she wasn't real.

You know that's kind of depressing, actually.

I have no problem with synthetic pop stars, but shouldn't they at least be honest with their fans about whether or not they are?

Pulling one over on hundreds or thousands of unsuspecting people was an indecent way to "test an audience", and a terrible example of science. The audience is composed of humans, not guinea pigs, and they deserve to know that the pop star they are watching is not a real person.

It's not only disappointing, but it's likely to cause massive paranoia if it hasn't already.

Meh. I find it hard to have sympathy for a herd of raving pop music fans. Besides, it's not like they caused them any actual harm.

They get their money anyway. ;p

Please tell me that you're joking about discounting thousands of people's emotional well-being just because they like pop music and are "getting their money anyway".

...as far as entertainment goes, it's not as significant as if, say, they put together a politician.

That'd be iffier.

..."emotional well-being?" Seriously? If you're going to get substantially mentally distraught over finding out a musician you like is a (damn good) fabrication, you've got bigger problem than epic trolling by scientists.

Finding out that someone who you were led to believe was a living human being is fake: A dick move no matter what the occupation of that fake person is.

I'm not seeing the big moral quandary here. Scientists pulled an epic practical joke. It's not like they hurt anyone. If they can't handle the fact that yes, people still prank people in the modern day, they kind of just need to suck it up.

Things like Milgram's experiments on authority and groupthink are questionable in the manner you're talking about, but this? This is just amusing, and these people are just overreacting to a comically stupid extent.