Tag: robots

Terror Management Theory and the Uncanny Valley (Video)

Here’s a video clip from my lecture last October at Neumann University on the Uncanny Valley. About an hour into the discussion of why androids and animatronics might creep us out, I gave this overview of “terror management theory” to explore how it applies to theories of the uncanny (das Unheimliche) and the representations of… Continue reading Terror Management Theory and the Uncanny Valley (Video)

“The Uncanny Valley” Event: Guest Lecture at Neumann University 10.23.15

I will be giving a talk about “The Uncanny Valley”, free and open to the public, at Neumann University (near Philadelphia, PA) on the early evening of Oct 23rd. This event doubles as an early bird festivity for Raw Dog Screaming Press’ exciting conference, DogCon4. [Raw Dog is the parent company for Guide Dog Books,… Continue reading “The Uncanny Valley” Event: Guest Lecture at Neumann University 10.23.15

The Clone Chores — aka. Return of the Maytag Men

Last June, I shared some observations about how das Unheimliche is employed in Maytag advertising that features the newest model of their Maytag Man spokesman. A year later, this great advertising icon is back in a new tv ad that has doubled-down on his inherent uncanniness…by framing the character as but one clone in a… Continue reading The Clone Chores — aka. Return of the Maytag Men

The Return of the Uncanny and the Rise of the Uncanny Valley

Although there is some wise debate about the reliability of Google NGrams as statistical proof, it is still interesting to see the way the term “uncanny” has come into — and gone out of — fashion over the years… Here’s how google NGram tracks the appearance of the term “uncanny” in all books between 1800… Continue reading The Return of the Uncanny and the Rise of the Uncanny Valley

The Uncanny Valley: Expanded and Uncut! Notes on Mori’s Groundbreaking Essay

  I like to think I’m good at keeping up with research on the Uncanny, but somehow I missed an important event this June: IEEE Spectrum published the first complete English translation of Masahiro Mori’s highly influential article on “The Uncanny Valley” (originally published in what they call “an obscure Japanese journal called Energy in… Continue reading The Uncanny Valley: Expanded and Uncut! Notes on Mori’s Groundbreaking Essay

The Uncanny Valley and Intellectual Uncertainty

Scientists are continuing to conduct empirical research into the theoretical assumptions of uncanny valley theory. A recent article in Digital Trends by Jeffrey Van Camp announces that “Scientists think they’ve figured out the ‘uncanny valley’. It’s based on a report from Science Daily about a recent brain study called “Your Brain on Androids” by Ayse… Continue reading The Uncanny Valley and Intellectual Uncertainty

The Uncanny Design of Robot Heads

While theories of the “uncanny valley” are debatable (see Hanson’s “Upending the Uncanny Valley” (.pdf)), the quest for human-like androids and automatons continue to compel their designers. At Carnegie-Mellon University’s anthropomorphism.org, I found an interesting early study of robot head design that shows how these designers sometimes make choices about when to make robots anthropomorphic… Continue reading The Uncanny Design of Robot Heads

Andrew Huang’s Uncanny Videos

I thank my colleagues at Seton Hill University, Laura Patterson and Maureen Vissat, for recently passing along a YouTube link to “Doll Face” by Andrew Huang. It’s a brilliant treatment of the relationship between media technology and gender identity, using uncanny structures like automatism and the compulsion to repeat to deliver its message. The video… Continue reading Andrew Huang’s Uncanny Videos