The Uncanny Valley
The Uncanny Valley is a term used in robotics and animation to describe a phenomenon where a human-like object or character becomes increasingly uncomfortable or eerie as it approaches human-like appearance and behavior but falls short of being completely convincing. This concept was first introduced by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970 and has since become a topic of interest in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.
The term “uncanny” comes from the German word “unheimlich,” which means “not homely” or “not familiar.” Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, used the term to describe a feeling of unease or strangeness that arises when something is both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. This feeling is often associated with horror or the supernatural, and it is this feeling that Masahiro Mori sought to capture with his concept of the Uncanny Valley.
The Uncanny Valley can be illustrated as a graph that plots people’s emotional response to a robot or character against its degree of human-like appearance and behavior. The graph starts with a low level of emotional response for robots or characters that are clearly non-human, such as a cartoon character or a toy robot. As the robot or character becomes more human-like in appearance and behavior, people’s emotional response becomes more positive, peaking at the point where the robot or character is almost but not quite human-like. Beyond this point, however, people’s emotional response takes a sharp downturn and becomes negative, reaching a low point in the “uncanny valley” where the robot or character is almost, but not quite, human-like.
The Uncanny Valley has important implications for robotics and animation, as it suggests that there is a limit to how human-like robots or characters can be before they become too eerie or uncomfortable for people to interact with. This has led to debates about the design and implementation of robots and characters in various industries, including healthcare, entertainment, and manufacturing.
For example, in healthcare, robots are being developed to provide care and support for elderly or disabled patients. These robots need to be human-like enough to engage patients and build trust, but not so human-like that they become creepy or uncomfortable to interact with. Similarly, in the entertainment industry, animated characters are being created to provide engaging and realistic experiences for audiences. These characters need to be human-like enough to create an emotional connection with viewers, but not so human-like that they become uncanny or unsettling.
The Uncanny Valley has also been the subject of debate among philosophers and psychologists, with some arguing that it is a real phenomenon, while others suggest that it is a flawed concept that does not accurately capture people’s emotional responses to robots or characters.
One criticism of the Uncanny Valley is that it assumes that people have a consistent and predictable emotional response to robots or characters based on their degree of human-like appearance and behavior. However, research has shown that people’s emotional responses to robots or characters are influenced by a variety of factors, including their individual preferences, cultural background, and the context in which they are interacting with the robot or character.
Another criticism of the Uncanny Valley is that it assumes that people’s emotional response to robots or characters is always negative once they reach the “uncanny valley.” However, research has shown that people’s emotional responses can vary depending on the context in which they are interacting with the robot or character. For example, people may be more accepting of a robot that is slightly uncanny if it is performing a task that is helpful or useful to them.
Despite these criticisms, the Uncanny Valley remains a useful concept for designers and developers of robots and characters. It reminds us that there is a limit to how human-like we can make these objects before they become too uncomfortable or eerie for people to interact with.
But the uncanny valley is something that is embedded in us, it is something that is part of being human, just like all our reactions to the world, they are the result of thousands of years of evolution.
This means that this feeling has evolved in us, that is, at some point in human history, humans had to deal with something that looked like a human but wasn’t and so it was important that we knew how to distinguish it from each other.
What could this thing be?
Part of this text was created with the help of: ChatGPT
