K-456

Okay, K-456 could do more than just shit beans out of its backside, it would for instance also recite JFK speeches. But we needed an excuse to feature K-456 by Nam June Paik and Shuya Abe on our website, a magical combination of cyberarts and low tech making it to the streets of NYC in 1964 and onwards. It was also the first trans robot, starting off androgyne, a penis was added in Japan, but that was too much for puritan USA, so K-456 transitioned to identifying as female. Pictures speak louder than words, so see below (kudos again to treasure trove Cybernetic Zoo).

Below you can see K456 in action on the left, and catch a glimpse of him as part of the 'The Future is Now' retrospective in the Stedelijk Museum in 2020 (movie start a bit flakey so scroll to 27:10 if its not in the right place).