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For Hatusne Miku fans (like me) you can buy this car! http://www.toyota.com/corollamiku/ well I have no car license, I hope this is not limited edition, f*ck. Plus they have cool Miku + Toyota video on youtube!

From the look of it, this is how it went down: A clever man/woman in the advertising side of Toyota thought, 'hmm, if Miku sells out concerts and is regarded as an actual celebrity, she can endorse a product easily.' thus Toyota bought some advertising rights, made a metallic blue color for one of their cars, came up with a catchy slogan, they then advertised reeling in hardcore fans and simpletons alike.
profit???
Heck yes profit.

I am not a fan of Miku and Toyota. Yes, I am some sort of Vocaloid hipster, but more on the basis that Americans are going to be freaked the fuck out and not get the appeal. Singing robots are going to confuse them.

Miku is too kawaii for this country.

There. I said it.

Some of the ads weren't that great, but I liked that they included Leekspin.

I didn't mind Miku until they started making holograms.
Miku is a bunch of ones and zeroes that can sing. It's not like it's an actual person. It's becoming a really unhealthy obsession.

I mean, I think it's obvious that I love Vocaloid… Sure, I'm borderline obsessive, but I would'nt call it unhealthy.
Just because I listen to singing robots more that real people doesn't mean I'm insane… does it?

For those who haven't seen the commercial

Well, we're starting to get dangerously close to robots being just like real people.
But the main issue I have with this is that it's machinery replacing a person.

Though I will also add that the continued development of military drones could lead to a Terminator situation, as stated by the British Ministry of Defense.

The same could be said of Ponies… and all religions!

What does My Little Pony have to do with the more menacing aspects of IT?

What do you mean by "the more menacing aspects of IT?" If you are talking about Information Technology, MLP was created too with Flash anim's, not very different from Vocaloid and Maya software to create Miku. You might say MLP has a story and huge fandom. Miku too, has a short story and huge fandom. MLP has voice actors. Miku's voice was sampled from a real voice actress.

So, in the end, "Whatcha talkin 'bout Willis"?

Robots are replacing people. That's a problem. And also, one thing that's starting to happen is that robots are becoming more like people. The Miku hologram at the concert wasn't charming, it was creepy.

I bet anyone seeing this thread will not live long enough to see robots completely replacing humans. Same was said about computers replacing people to perform decisions, and it did not happen (yet). Humankind is not even close to recreate a robot that can function 100% like a mouse, let alone a human being.

Miku's songs are created by people, while Miku is more like a musical instrument rather than a robot. Miku only provides sounds. People create the music. Maybe what unsettles you is the Uncanny Valley-ness of Miku. Maybe in the future this valley will be overcome.

Want something really creepy? Listen to this:

What is this? Music created, or composed, by a computer program.

But then, what could make you feel more comfortable with all this? In this case, I would greatly suggest reading I, Robot. Not the stupid film. The actual book. I especially like the following passage:

"Oh, are robots so different from men, mentally?"
"Worlds different." She allowed herself a frosty smile, "Robots are essentially decent."