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Err, yes, yes

It could be just what every tourist needs – an unobtrusive gadget that offers instant, accurate translations in three languages.

While there had been widespread praise for Ili – described by its maker, the Tokyo-based tech firm Logbar, as the world’s first wearable translator – the device’s promotional video has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

In perhaps the most cringeworthy proposition, Dean, who films his exploits using a head-mounted camera, tells another woman: “I should thank your parents, for making such a beautiful girl on this earth.” The video ends with him about to kiss her on the lips, as he reassures her: “It’s OK, no one’s looking.”

Social media users were quick to describe the video as creepy, with some accusing Logbar of promoting the sexual harassment of Japanese women.

The ad, posted on the Gaijin Pot Facebook page, has attracted more than 4.8m views and has been shared more than 80,000 times.

One commenter said: “You make one of the most incredible pieces of technology in years and your advertisement for it is exclusively about sexually harassing women in Japan?”

Human beings are very, very, interested in sex. On the very simple grounds that we’re all descended from those who were also very interested in it. And thus any and every new technology is at least tried out for its potential at increasing the amount of sex one can obtain by employing said new technology.

This is as true of translation devices as it is of potato peelers and a new mixer for Bacardi. That’s just what humans do: will this get me more sex?

12 thoughts on “Err, yes, yes”

  1. So Much For Subtlety

    One commenter said: “You make one of the most incredible pieces of technology in years and your advertisement for it is exclusively about sexually harassing women in Japan?”

    It never ceases to amaze me how much White women (and their ball-less male enablers) hate Japanese women. Usually in a very passive aggressive way. I assume it is because Western women have a sort of de facto Trade Union whereby they all agree to limit competition for the good men by, for instance, not being nice to any of them. Women from outside, especially from Asia, play this game by very different rules and so need to be bullied back into line.

    What they don’t understand is that Japanese women behave so nicely in public because their own culture agrees to let them run everything in private. Still, I think it may be a trade off worth making. If only to annoy so many of my colleagues.

  2. “You make one of the most incredible pieces of technology in years and your advertisement for it is exclusively about sexually harassing women in Japan?”

    Well, somebody’s got to. Young Japanese men seem to be more interested in pornographic cartoons.

  3. “And thus any and every new technology is at least tried out for its potential at increasing the amount of sex one can obtain by employing said new technology.”

    Which is why Tim initially tried out this new-fangled blogging thing!

  4. If a man cured cancer, but announced it in a video on Twitter while wearing a mildly sexist shirt, what would be the response?

  5. So Much For Subtlety

    And thus any and every new technology is at least tried out for its potential at increasing the amount of sex one can obtain by employing said new technology.

    Didn’t work when I bought a new dishwasher.

  6. So Much For Subtlety

    Surreptitious Evil – “But it gave her or both of you time away from doing the washing up which could then be gainfully employed doing more interesting things. Like having sex.”

    That’s what I said! Who invented the silver wedding anniversary anyway?

  7. It will be interesting to see how our establishment media et all react to stuff like this appearing in the future. Lots of nice middle class jobs are going to vanish. We’ve seen with Uber that there is a lot of hostility to new technology which breaks up cosy entrenched interests.

  8. IanB

    “It’s why the garlic crusher was invented”

    Nah, that was when someone found out the waffle iron worked better than two rocks when gelding.

    More or less the same goes for the schnitzel hammer.. 😉

  9. “This is as true of translation devices as it is of potato peelers”

    Doesn’t the potato peeler help satisfy that other powerful human deisre – chips?

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