Emojis Meet The Uncanny Valley
Midjourney madness ft. fan faves.
In case you’re not yet aware, the uncanny valley is a key concept related to AI artwork and robotics. Basically, it’s that uneasy feeling that you get when you encounter something that has a real-looking human face but which makes your instincts go a bit haywire. It seems that we’re readily repelled by objects and things that resemble people but which, at the same time, aren’t actually anything like us.
Anyway, I bring this up because lately I’ve been fooling around with several well-known emojis using Midjourney’s /describe command. Many of the results you’re about to see came from deep down in the uncanny valley. Brace yourself; it’s going to be a wild ride!
Note: I’ve given all my favourite emojis cute little nicknames to make it easier to categorize them.
1. Smiley 😃
Your basic emoji descended from the emoticon. :D
It yielded fairly predictable results (i.e. the one above) and these subtly off-putting ones:
