The “Uncanny Valley” is a concept that describes the unsettling feeling we experience when encountering something that appears almost human, but not quite. This phenomenon, first proposed by roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, suggests that as the similarity between a human and an artificial entity (like a robot or a computer-generated image) increases, our emotional response becomes more positive.
Except at some point the entity becomes almost perfectly human, our emotional response plummets into a valley of unease, revulsion, and even fear. Beyond this valley, as the artificial entity achieves near-perfect human realism, our emotional response becomes positive again, mirroring our reactions to actual humans.
I would assume everyone has that shiver down their spine while looking at a hyper-realistic robot or a CGI character that just felt off. Our brains are wired to spot subtle cues of humanness. When something is clearly artificial, we’re fine, but near-perfect imitations highlight the imperfections, creating a dissonance. Our brains struggle to categorize it; human or not? it will trigger a sense of wrongness.
For example the humanoid robots like Sophia. Very cool, but the slightly unnatural expressions can be creepy. Realistic CGI characters, like the ones in “The Polar Express”, demonstrate the Valleys effects. The “dead eyes’ are really unsettling.
The Uncanny Valley isn’t all negative though. Horror films exploit it masterfully. Unsettling dolls or gross creatures amplify our sensitivity to the almost human, boosting the fear factor. It is a powerful reminder of our complex relationship with artificiality. As technology advances, understanding it is crucial for creating believable characters and robots. It also offers insights into human perception itself. Navigating this fragile balance between familiar and unfamiliar will create amazing experiences.
Reference
Garcia, F. (2023, June 20). Noticing the uncanny valley in writing. Medium. CLICK HERE