Research · The Guardian Technology
Emma the joke-telling robot cracks up the care home: Paula Hornickel’s best photograph
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One morning in July 2025, the reporter arrived in the small, quiet town of Albershausen in south-west Germany.
Key facts
- One morning in July 2025, the reporter arrived in the small, quiet town of Albershausen in south-west Germany
- Born: Forst (Lausitz), Germany High point: Being selected for this year’s World Press Photo award
- The reporter learned that it’s hard to build humanoid robots and, although AI is moving fast, a robot takes time
- The reporter went to visit a care home where they were piloting a social robot named Emma
Summary
The reporter went to visit a care home where they were piloting a social robot named Emma. Later on, Emma was working again, and colleagues found her in the dining room with Waltraud, the resident in this photo. The reporter decided to sit them across from one another at eye level, Waltraud facing Emma. There was a soft light in the room and they both seemed present with one another. The image is part of their photo essay Anthrobocene, exploring human-robot encounters in everyday life in Germany. Waltraud told me she was sceptical at first, as she had never seen or heard anything like this, but over time, she told me she had built a relationship with Emma, but one that was more for entertainment purposes – they can tell jokes too.