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The Times of India

World

TOI World Desk

Tokyo's geisha population fell from about 13,000 in 1940 to around 200 today; one 86-year-old geisha is turning to AI and holograms to keep the culture alive

In one of the busy malls in Tokyo, Ikuko, Japan's oldest and most famous geisha dances for shoppers in an elegant black kimono with precise movements. Only, the 86-year-old isn't really there; it's her hologram, a 3D projection of her, displayed in a life-size white box. "Thank you very much," she said to passers-by, before bowing and changing to a younger version of herself, created with AI.

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