Yes, the robots are coming. But they may be a little friendlier and more helpful than we thought.  Across the world, our populations are ageing, except in Africa and India and while most of Asia has a younger population, Japan and China like North America are facing a rapidly ageing population and not enough young folks coming up to meet the care needs of the ageing, let alone many other jobs in these countries.  Perhaps no other country is advanced on this front with robots than Japan. There’s Pepper the little robot and Paro, a furry seal. Pepper is designed to be a companion to the elderly who live alone. Aside from being able to carry on some fairly decent conversations, it can also remind them when to take medications and when they haven’t eaten in a while. If set periods of time pass with no engagement with Pepper, the