Uncanny Valley addresses our reactions to humanoid objects, such as robots, a video game characters, or dolls, and how they look and act ‘almost’ like a real human. Feeling of uneasiness or disgust in the observer are addressed directly, rather than familiarity or attraction. The theory was proposed by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970 and has been explored by many researchers and artists since. It has application in AI, robotics, MMI, and human-computer interaction, and helps designers to create more appealing devices that can interact with people in various domains, such as industry, education, entertainment, defence, health care, et al. In this lecture we explain and demonstrate the fundamentals before extending the principle to sound, motion, actions, and eyes as an output mechanism. We also note that all this poses some challenges and risks in the potential for reduced the emotional connections, empathy, acceptance, and trust between humans and machines. On a further dimension the potential to create threat and terror can be useful opportunity in the military domain. It is thus important to understand the causes and effects of the uncanny valley in the wider sense in order to meet the needs of each application space

1. Peter Cochrane DSc, OBE
Professor of Sentient Systems
UnCanny Valley
& HUMAN DESTINY

2. Classic Definition
“The eerie or unsettling feeling that
some experience when confronted
by a not-quite-human face or
fi
gure”

3. EXTENDED Definition
“The eerie or unsettling feeling that
some experience when confronted
by not-quite-human characteristics”
“We, our species, is so much more
than facial features - how we move,
speak, act - our pheromones, and
modes of engagement are all
important factors”

4. ALL IN THE EYE OF
THE BEHOLDER !
Our perceptions are subjective: is
this a smile, or is it a threatening
grimace - what is the intent here?

5. BASIC CONCEPTs

6. PerspectiveS
Professor Emeritus Masahiro Mori
Mori: “the more a robot resembles a human, the more empathic
we feel - until the resemblance reaches a certain point where
there is the onset of revulsion. But as the robot continues to
become ever more human, then positive emotions and empathy
return to approach a human level”
The emotional revulsion takes place between a barely human and
a fully human appearance.
Note: Darwin wrote in The Voyage of the Beagle of a viper: “I
imagine the repulsive aspect originates from the features being in
positions…. somewhat proportional to the human face; and thus,
we obtain a scale of hideousness” (Darwin, 1839).
https://www.simplypsychology.org/uncanny-valley.html

7. fam
ilia
rity
+
-
humanoid robot
bunraku puppet
industrial robot
stu
ff
ed animal
prosthetic hand
corpse
zombie
healthy
human
50% 100%
M O R I + +
Graphing

8. • Hypothesised relationship between a humanoid resemblance
to a real human and the negative emotional responses invoked
• Professor Masahiro Mori 91970)
fi
rst identi
fi
ed this
phenomenon as bukimi no tani genshō = the ‘uncanny valley’
• Deviations from human norms: appearance, mortality, identity
and other discords may further explain the uncanny valley
• Research links the uncanny valley to all anthropomorphic
attributes deviations and attributes
• Heterogeneous phenomena, cultural constructs, humans
familiarity with di
ff
erent lifeforms and age group reactions
challenge much of the scienti
fi
c theory and understanding
• People tend to focus exclusively on the visual, but there is
much more!
Wider perspective

9. WHY BOTHER ?
Creating the right aesthetic is an
important design criterion
spanning all situations and
human senses from visual
appearances, of people, places
and machines, through to mood -
lighting, aromas, and acoustics in
a restaurant and weapons of war
- from a relaxed comfort & beauty
to the abject terror of an ugly and
evil threat!

10. Perception
& REACTION
Realistic Abstract
Fear
Panic
Comfortable
Relaxed
Science
fi
ction publications/movies
pre-condition us to anticipate the
potential threats and behaviours
most likely confronting us
As a general rule Hollywood’s focus
on depictions of evil and dystopia -
sees populations easily disturbed/
worried, and even terrified, by a
convincingly perverted view of
science and technology

11. Hypothesis on AGE
“The older we are the greater the
perceived threat”
“A child might see a toy, potential
friend, new life form, an opportunity
for new experiences and knowledge”
“Science
fi
ction and Hollywood do a
good job of progressively amplifying
our expectations/fears year-on-year”

12. I SEE NO THREAT !

13. Origins - where does
it all Really start ?
• In the womb, sounds, movements, +++ mothers reactions
• Evolutionary preconditioning
• Parents, siblings, associates
• Fairy tales and stories
• TV, Computer games
• Toys and dolls
• Ghost stories
• Play times
• Fairy tales
• Outings
• School
• Movies
• +++

14. HYPOTHESIS
Pre-Natal
Normal Abnormal
Fear
Panic
Comfortable
Relaxed
We appear to be pre-programmed
whilst in the womb to recognise, or
at least react, to a number of threat
vectors that span movement,
sounds, and mothers emotions.
How this occurs is not entirely
clear, but by some mechanism
pregnancy sees a ‘telegraphing’ of
a mother’s feelings and reactions
to their unborn… which is evident
in the extent/type of movement
the baby exhibits.
Calm
Sitting
Talking
Singing
Walking
Humming
Melodic
Music
Gentle
Actions
Stress
Agitation
Running
Shouting
Screaming
High frequency
and discordant
sounds
Low frequency
protracted or
long sounds

15. e x t e n d e d
A c o u s t i c s
healthy
human
Animals
Machines
Animals
Yapping
Snarl
Hiss
Local
Stampede
Distant
Stampede
Aggressive
Threatening
Sounds
Gentle
Noise
Tone
Gentle
Noise
Tone
Local
Rumble
Clanking
Distant
Rumble
Clanking
Constant
Hum
Increasing
Volume
& Pitch
Threatening
Voice/Tone
Screech
Growl
e x t e n d e d
TO Acoustics

16. PRIMEVAL Acoustic
precursor alerts
Normal Abnormal
Fear
Panic
Comfortable
Relaxed
Attack Underway
Puppy
Yapping
Screech
Growl
Rumble
Kitten
Purring
Attack Pending
Potential Danger
Friendly Reaction
Asleep

17. • Appearance - human like?
• Movement - machine like?
• Interaction - emotionless, mechanised…?
• Odour - nothing, oil, grease, metallic, acrid…?
• Actions - calm, erratic, uncontrolled, demonic…?
• Perception - kind, peaceful, hateful, dangerous, threatening…?
• Familiarity - changes with time and accumulated experiences !
THERE IS FAR MORE !

18. S tat i c i z e d
Exemplars
Dolls can span the acceptable/ friendly/kind to
the evil and potentially threatening, and it gets
much worse when they are animated!

19. Ex ceptions
On the edge !
Spooky or acceptable?
Do we feel more empathic
toward these dolls than
we did to all the previous
examples?

20. Hollywood
Horrors !
“If this doll becomes
animated - then it at
least invokes fear and
panic as we know it
should be inanimate”

21. EXEMPLAR
A N I M AT E D E X E M P L A R
F r o m m y c h i l d h o o d

22. A N I M AT E D E X E M P L A R
F r o m m y c h i l d h o o d

23. FF to today
Want to Play?

24. What is your name ?

25. I need a
F r i e n d
It is easy to accept a machine that
is imperfect and displays less than
human form and capability

26. MEA CULPA !
“My eldest daughter thought
him funny”
“My youngest daughter thought
him terrifying because he
could change his head”
“She did not reveal this past
terror until she was a teenager”

27. Eyes AS OUTPUT
Unlike many other species (felines, reptiles and
fi
sh for example)
human eyes convey a considerable amount of information at a
glance including love, a threat and impending actions!

28. The Eyes
have IT !
Notice the female
robot with human
eyes and what
her gaze conveys

29. T H E E Y E S
AS OUTPUT !
Only an actor in make up, but
how threatening !

30. T H E E Y E S
AS OUTPUT !
Only an actor in a mask, with
no visible eyes or expression,
but immediately so very
threatening !

31. T H E E Y E S
AS OUTPUT !

32. T H E E Y E S
AS OUTPUT !

33. T H E E Y E S
AS OUTPUT !
E Y E S A S
O U T P U T !
The same person, but cosmetic
surgery and aging have
transformed our perception !

34. T H E E Y E S
AS OUTPUT !
T H E N t h e r e i s
T H E P e r s o n a

35. H U M A N o i d
or Human ?

36. H U M A N o i d
or Human ?
ROBOT

37. H U M A N o i d
or Human ?
HUMAN

38. H U M A N o i d
or Human ?
This lady does not exist - she
is the manifestation of and AI
engine - but she looks so
alive ?
She has been synthesised by
an AI that collected millions
of pictures from the internet -
and it is possible that she has
a ‘doppelgänger’ somewhere
on the planet !

39. Evolutionary Technology
Symbiosis TO subsumption ?

40. S tat u s q u o
T h i s i s a n i n c o m p l e t e
l i s t o f e n h a n c e m e n t s
and fix es that e x pan d s
y e a r - o n - y e a r !
At a time of desperate
human need could you say
no to any of this?

41. NEW Dimensions
in techno-life
This line of thinking is radical, logical, and
supported by us as individuals if and
when we go deaf, blind, and physically/
or mentally dysfunctional and inhibited in
any way, we accept almost any form of
fi
x
or potential cure.
Arti
fi
cial joints, limbs and modi
fi
ed eyes ,
ears, hearts et al are now commonplace,
as are pacemakers, respiratory and brain
stimulators, hearing aids, body monitors
and ‘on the wrist AI and communicators…

42. T R A N S H U M A N I S M
A l o g i c a l p a t h t h a t w e a r e
a l r e a d y t r e a d i n g …
“ A t t h i s t i m e t h e r e a r e m a n y c r i t i c a l
c h o i c e s t o m a k e t h a t w i l l d i c t a t e t h e
f i n a l o u t c o m e - a n d w e d o n o t h a v e t o
a c c e p t t h e i n h u m a n , b u t i t w i l l b e s p e c i e s
t r a n s f o r m a t i v e - a n d i r r e v e r s i b l e f o r u s ”

43. C h i p p e d
BY Choice

44. IT IS OUR CHOICE -
T R A N S H U M A N I S M
PARTIAL oR FULLY
Step-by-step; we embrace solutions to our
ailing, failing, and aging physiologies, along
with enhancements to our mental powers, by
subsuming exoskeletons, exo-organs and AI.
This will see a gradual extension of our active
and productive life spans, whilst this thread of
integration of bio and techno will proceed to
blur the boundaries between the human and
the machine…
…ultimately this evolutionary path may see it all
become as one, a hybrid species and a new
norm…

45. A f u t u r e E m b r a c i n g T H E
subliminal or BLATANT OR not ?

46. extended
G r a p h i n g
healthy
human

47. IS A NEW DYNAMIC
ABROAD ADJUSTING
OUR EXPECTATIONS
The same person, but cosmetic
surgery (gone wrong) and aging
transform our perception !

48. B r o t h e r & S I S T E R

49. T o d a y ’ s a v a i l a b l e
H o r r o r o n D e m a n d

50. “Our tolerance and acceptance levels
is far wider and higher than previous
generations”
H Y P O T H E S I S
SHAPE CHANGE
The single & double sided ‘Valley’ curve may be
getting compressed by our increasing exposure
to, and acceptance of, abnormal threat scenarios

51. “Our tolerance and acceptance levels
is far wider and higher than previous
generations”
H Y P O T H E S I S
SHAPE CHANGE
The single & double sided ‘Valley’ curve may be
getting compressed by our increasing exposure
to, and acceptance of, abnormal threat scenarios

52. M3GAN Universal Pictures - Released 2022
Starts off straightforward enough but
exhibits a simmering threat scenario with
M3GAN evolving to protect Katie by
evermore extreme means…
F R O M T O Y S
T O T E R R O R

53. O U R N E M E S I S O R
P e r h a p s N O T !
The militarisation of robots + AI is well
advanced and appears inevit able
It all ‘prefixes’ and new era of threats

54. P r o g r a m m e d T o
K i l l & D E S T R O Y
Does the anthropomorphising of our
weapon systems make any sense ?
It is certainly a means of conjuring new
levels of threat and terror

55. P r o g r a m m e d T o
K i l l & D E S T R O Y
Todays efforts to militarise robots &
AI tell a very different and more
a b s t r a c t s t o r y … e x h i b i t e d b y
movement, sound, actions and less
by appearance…for now…

56. Stanley Kubrick (Movie)
Arthur C Clark (Book)
Logical con
fl
ict or AI
insanity - unclear!
A P e r v e r s e
T H R E A T 2 0 0 1

57. P e r v e r s e
A n n o ya n c e
Doug Naylor (Author)
BBC Red Dwarf 1991
Out of control toaster

58. E m o t i o n s
t o c o m e ?
" Marvin's 'death' prompts Arthur to say, "Miserable git!" and
then, to his own obvious astonishment, to add, "I'll miss him."
Douglas Adams (Author) Hitchhikers Guide to The
Galaxy 2005 Movie Out of control toaster

59. A I - A N D R O I D
H u m a n i s at i o n
Isaac Azimov (Author) 1950 - 2004 Movie
A mass market robot slave population rebel
Wil Smith detective

60. A future OF
no limiters?
Will our further progress and evolution
render ‘Uncanny Valley’ a past curiosity?

61. A C T U A L I T I E S
“A symbiotic relationship between all biology including
androids, humans, and new nano-bio prosthetics, synthetics,
robots, intelligences, is both essential to the survival of life life on
earth and evolution itself - it really doesn’t have to be a horror movie”

62. Thank You
p e t e r c o c h r a n e . c o m
“ O u r f u t u r e i s ‘ m o s t l y ’ i n o u r
h a n d s , a n d f o r n o w, w e a r e
t h e p r i m a r y a r b i t e r s ”