Is it a woman or robot? 'Life-like' android in Tokyo will baffle you

This ‘woman’ has divided the internet. Not because of her looks or her strange dress, but because no one seems to know for sure if she’s a robot or not.

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The incredibly ‘life-like’ android appears to show how the line between woman and machine is starting to disappear. It was filmed at the Tokyo Games Show, to the delight and terror of millions around the world.

The footage has already amassed three million views on one video-sharing platform alone, but not everyone believes their eyes.

A fierce debate has broken among those who have seen the robot with many believing it must be a person, while others think she is the genuine object. Some social media users have even admitted to ‘falling in love’ with the ‘pretty’ machine.

The automaton was to promote a PlayStation 4 game titled Detroit: Become Human developed by French firm Quantic Dream and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

A number of Japanese-made and international games are on display at the convention, which has been held annually for the last two decades.

The female ‘android’ stood out to many of the more than a quarter of a million gamers who attended, despite the fact she is only a publicity prop.

Visitors could be forgiven for thinking the apparently man-made machine was in fact a real-life human, as the video shows stunning build detail on her face and in the movements of her limbs.

In the short clip, the ‘android’ smiles and waves, leaving expo-goers and social media users stunned.

According to the game’s storyline, the humanoid robots promoting the game are state-of-the-art AP700 models, called ‘the most reliable android’.

Twitter user Gareth Evans‏, who met one of her comrades at a separate games demo, said: “I met an android today. It/she was scary. Luckily the demo for Detroit: Become Human was awesome!”

The plot of ‘Detroit: Become Human’, set for release in 2018, revolves around android Kara, who escapes the factory where she was made.

The development of human-like robots has taken huge strides in the years since Honda’s Asimov robot shot to fame.

Coupled with recent major advances in artificial intelligence – and stark warnings from luminaries like Elon Musk about the risk to humanity as they grow – the revelation of the robot is tantalising and terrifying at the same time.