it's not like I don't live my life waiting for skynet to show up

Dear Uncanny Valley,

Seriously?

No love,
Seperis

I'm saying, when is the time we pull out our I, Robot, Bladerunner and Terminator to treat them as the necessary survival documents they are? Maybe when the android gets to star in its own play about itself? You think?

It's so weird to watch that; even knowing--scientifically, or at least, wikipedially--the nature of my reaction, it does not change my instinctive kill it with fire in any rational way. There are reasons a lot of horror movies are about things that shouldn't be moving that suddenly start moving, you know? Wax figures, mannequins, androids that blink and turn their head in ways that make me want an axe. You know. The usual.

I'm curious; the uncanny divide threshhold is different for everyone; does this hit yours, or what does hit yours?

Comments

[innocentsmith]

I get a bit of a "kill it with fire" reaction, but mainly:

(1) EWW EWW EWW CREEPY INSTITUTIONAL SEXISM. They avoid saying "lovebot" at any point in the narration, but they don't have to, because it's oozing from the whole situation. Basically, if android girl rises up to destroy her creators, I will be strongly tempted to believe it's because she got tired of dudes leering and taking photos of her and talking about how "high quality" her skin is, and downloaded a copy of the SCUM Manifesto or something.

(2) I...am kind of curious to see that play? I wonder if it's on YouTube.

But then, I was often on the side of the Cylons during BSG. So yeah.

[seperis]

No, you got the sexbot subtext down pat. And I don't think it's a coincidence it was mostly guys playing it up; you could almost see the WHEE SEXBOT running through their heads while they looked at the android.

I...am kind of curious to see that play? I wonder if it's on YouTube.

Tell me if you find it?

[monanotlisa]

Pretty different, if this brief report is to be believed. The guy toward the end of the interview seems rather charmed, whereas I'm definitely going into Where's The Nearest Exit? mode...

[seperis]

That was me in the Exit, please? way. Just. Oh.

[torch]

Deeply creepy. I would walk as fast as I could the other way. Well, no, I'd stay and stare, but the idea of accepting something like this in homes and stores or whatever they were saying, augh. No. No. No.

[seperis]

Seeing it in a store is bad enough, but I cannot--I mean I cannot--imagine going to visit someone adn seeing that like, in the living room. Or even knowing it was in the house.

[ratcreature]

It's kind of creepy. What I found most off putting was that the movements were so jerky, and the expressions also slow and not quite like a face, while the looks when still were so close to human. I think until the movements are better they should stick with making the robots machine-cute.

[seperis]

*nods* I don't get why they want to try with "REALLY LOOKS HUMAN" instead of getting something more--I want to say anime-like or even friendly robotic like. Because this would, I think, bother me less if it wasn't made to be an attractive woman.

[dine]

I think you're right on target with the kill it with fire thing - that creeps me right the fuck out!

[seperis]

Preach it.

[harpers_child]

i think i'd be more okay with it if it looked like a robot and not like some sort of creepy human. the robots in the "i, robot" movie were clearly robots and not people even if they had people-like faces. i think my "kill it with fire" reaction is triggered by things that are not human but look like they want to be. if the robot is happy being a robot and has no aspirations to being human i'm cool with it. i like to think optimus prime agrees with me.

[allburningup]

It's definitely in the valley, but not at the very bottom. Mildly creepy.

[mecurtin]

My Uncanny Valley is located closer to "actual human" -- this one doesn't creep me out because I register it as "just another animatronic mannequin, nbd". On the other hand, be-Botoxed actresses frequently drop right into the Valley for me. e.g. in Sherlock Holmes (2009) I kept expecting Mary Morstan to turn out to be a lizard in a human suit.

[dragovianknight]

Yes, this here.

[gwyn]

I'm still stuck back in the '60s of my childhood, where any kind of AI makes me run for the hills. I'm always shouting "Colossus: the Forbin Project!" at people, who give me dumb looks, so then I haul out Skynet and they seem to get the gist (Wall*E excepted). But putting the human face on it, and turning into sexbot for the mens, I'm dangerously close to meltdown. Yes, kill it with fire. Maybe kill the makers with it, while you're at it.

[vickita]

Oh my GOD, this one hits mine, hard. Yeah, no, this is the stuff horror flicks are made of. This belongs in an episode of "Supernatural." A particularly creepy one.

Interestingly, Andrew Sullivan has been using the Uncanny Valley phenomenon, lately, to describe people's responses to Mitt Romney. *g*

[ladyvyola]

Well, at least this does allow us to weed out the sexbot fetishists pretty easily....

Whether it's as a domestic worker (finally, somebody else can clean the bathroom!) or as a sex partner, I want my robot to look like a robot. I don't want to be manipulated into treating it like a person. The point is to treat people like people and machines like machines.

(Okay, this in no way keeps me from pampering/babying/berating my iPod, my Kindle, my laptop.... But the point stands.)

[harpers_child]

you and me and tony stark seem to have similar views on robots.

[mrshamill]

I'd just like to SEE the damn thing. No matter what I do, it won't come up. Grar.

[mrshamill]

Whatever, I don't think I saw the same as you did, but I saw something of the singing robot. She doesn't creep me out AT ALL, not like this one does: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIuF5DcsbKU&feature=related or MUCH worse, these two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaTfzYDZG8c&feature=related. Now, THAT'S creepy.

[parhelion]

Huh. She doesn't creep me out at all. Rather, she makes me a little melancholy. I think it's because of the immediate realization her not-really human behavior forces upon me of how people will work out their strong emotional responses against that non-sentient near-humanity and the damage that will, surely as night follows day, ensue.

Now, some of the people in that report creeped me out big time.

[lilacsigil]

Yes, she makes me sad like seeing unhappy (though not injured or sick) animals.

[kayloulee]

Oh Jesus, I'm not even going to watch that video, because robots creep me the fuck out. Especially ones that talk to you. There's an episode of QI (probably most recent season) where they had Asimo or whatever the fuck that Japanese robot is, the one that's all white plastic, come out on the set and I couldn't watch it at ALL, I just fastforwarded through the whole thing. Cannot deal. Too creepy, even without the whole sexbot dealie going on.

[akacat]

I think she's lovely, the only time she hits something like uncanny valley is when she turns her head. I'd really like to know why her head turns in such a jerky manner. I'm positive they could make her move more smoothly, as I've seen it done. Was it to expensive for them to use smoother mechanics? Or what?

I wish I knew if she would have tripped uncanny valley for me five years ago. I'm pretty sure several years of buying Asian ball joint dolls has skewed my perception.

(Icon relevant.)

[nagasvoice]

Word here. Also, having ball-jointed dolls paradoxically makes my standards for acceptable art on the robot imitation much, much higher. (They could totally use some of our really good bjd or porcelain or vinyl doll artists to make that face a *lot* more convincing without even changing any of the contours or mechanics.)
Besides the jerk of the head, the eyes don't entirely close when she blinks, for instance.
My bjds are on the more "realistic" end of the spectrum (not the anime character end of things) and from reactions to those, I know a lot of folks would be far more comfortable with a frankly nonhuman servant robot like those in I Robot.
Japan already has very expensive giant dolls intended as sex-fetish items, so making this one capable of independent movement is not a huge surprise. Odd that they've made it rather sad and pensive and woebegone (cue "helpless girl who needs rescuing" music) rather than overtly smexy. That makes the reactions of the guys taking pictures much harder to interpret. Some of them may well be the honestly hero-self-image "rescuing" sort, but the last guy is deeply creepy because he seems to be thinking more about taking advantage of a vulnerable person.
You could almost plant this robot as bait for rapists, which is incredibly creepy.

[cesare]

I've seen videos of robots that are much more smooth and convincing in their movements. Oh, looking at the comments, I was thinking of the ones that Mrshamill linked to. So mainly I was watching and thinking... she must be cheaper than those others, to have such jerky movements.

I'm fascinated by dolls and mannequins and any such imitation of the human form, so I'm not bugged by any of them. Per Akacat's comment, if they made a balljoint-type doll that could move, I'd probably want one.

[jackycomelately]

I just refused to believe it was a robot on any level. Total denial. Why is that woman pretending to be a robot? I don't know what that says about me. On the other hand, the men totally creeped me out. Probably in part because it felt like they were openly objectifying a somewhat odd woman.

[melodyunity]

My reaction was the same as this. She reminded me of a human mannequin -- a human being who is paid to stand in a shop window and pretend to be a mannequin, except they occasionally move. That's clearly someone with weird contacts pretending to be a robot -- she even does the same jerky type movements that Brent Spiner did as Data!

God, the dude taking pictures of her was so very, very creepy.

[nellacitta]

OMG, that is terrifying. ALSO ALSO, how does programming a robot girl to be FOREVER waiting for her perfect match to come along ever end well? IT DOESN'T!!!

*stocks up on water and canned goods*

[melodyunity]

I know, right? Was anyone else reminded of April from the Buffy episode "I Was Made to Love You"? Throw the creepy picture taking dude through a plate glass window, robot, please! And maybe throw your creators after him!

[green_grrl]

*shudder* I'm more "Um, ew" than "Kill it with fire." The creepy dude, however ...

[kiezh]

I was only a little creeped out by the actual robot - though the jerky motion registered as distinctly not-human - but MASSIVELY creeped out by the design and what it says about the assumptions and intentions of her creators. Because "like a real woman" = sitting around and being pretty and objectified! And the guys ogling and taking pictures, ick.

Basically, y'know, what the other commenters said.

Oh, and also: I'd be more creeped out by the robot if I had to spend a lot of time with it. There's a cumulative affect, for me, with mannequins or things that move weirdly and repetitively; first exposure doesn't trigger "kill it with fire" but ongoing presence gets increasingly unsettling and freaky. Once I saw her do that jerky head-tilt 10-20 times, I'd be reaching for the axe too.

[mareen.livejournal.com]

I was fine with it until they first showed that little half-smile on her face. To me it doesn't look like the "I'm waiting for my lover"-smile they were going for obviously, but more a "I am just biding my time until you turn your back"-smirk. urgh.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

...and now that is how I will see it, too.

*haggard* I will never sleep again*

[dragongirl16.livejournal.com]

THOSE EYES. They lost me at the hands. The second they came on screen it was all over.

Humanity is so very, very screwed.

[welfycat.livejournal.com]

Oh oh, that's disturbing.

For me it's the jerky movements of the head combined with the almost lifelike facial features. It's like, in my mind I hear gears clicking as her head turns. *shudders*

[inteligrrl.livejournal.com]

What I find disturbing is that there is an entire school of computer programing which basically uses Maslow's hierarchy of needs rather than a Asmov based core programing. I can't help but feel that robots who are, at their core, entirely self-motivated is a BAD IDEA.

[inteligrrl.livejournal.com]

entire school of computer programing, AI programing I mean. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilden%27s_Laws_of_Robotics