Uncanny valley

The uncanny valley hypothesis predicts that an entity appearing almost human will risk eliciting eerie feelings in viewers.

[1] Bukimi no tani was translated literally as uncanny valley in the 1978 book Robots: Fact, Fiction, and Prediction written by Jasia Reichardt.

However, as the robot's appearance continues to become less distinguishable from that of a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once again and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.

The name represents the idea that an almost human-looking robot seems overly "strange" to some human beings, produces a feeling of uncanniness, and thus fails to evoke the empathic response required for productive human–robot interaction.

[7] A number of theories have been proposed to explain the cognitive mechanism causing the phenomenon: A series of studies experimentally investigated whether uncanny valley effects exist for static images of robot faces.

"[15][34][35] Viewer perception of facial expression and speech and the uncanny valley in realistic, human-like characters intended for video games and movies is being investigated by Tinwell et al., 2011.

[36] Consideration is also given by Tinwell et al. (2010) as to how the uncanny may be exaggerated for antipathetic characters in survival horror games.

[40] The suspected causes were their reduced sensibility for subtle facial changes and limited visual experiences due to diminished social motivation.

[21] An effect similar to the uncanny valley was noted by Charles Darwin in 1839: The expression of this [Trigonocephalus] snake's face was hideous and fierce; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit in a mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and the nose terminated in a triangular projection.

I imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the features being placed in positions, with respect to each other, somewhat proportional to the human face; and thus we obtain a scale of hideousness.A similar "uncanny valley" effect could, according to the ethical-futurist writer Jamais Cascio, show up when humans begin modifying themselves with transhuman enhancements (cf.

Reviewers have often criticized the use of virtual actors for its uncanny valley effect, saying it adds an eerie feeling to the movie.