The “Uncanny Valley” Phenomenon

With the advancement of technology, humans are able to create artificial agents that are life-like such as robots and computer graphics. However, this can be a double-edged sword. 

Do you ever feel a cringe of creepiness when you see robots that look like humans? Well, you are not alone. The phenomenon behind this feeling is called the Uncanny Valley. Scientists have now identified the brain mechanism behind this phenomenon.

By studying brain patterns of 21 healthy individuals using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers found out that some people are more weirded out by human-like agents than others.

This is the first study to show individual differences in the strength of the Uncanny Valley effect, meaning that some individuals react overly and others less sensitively to human-like artificial agents,” said Prof Astrid Rosenthal-von der Pütten. “This means there is no one robot design that fits—or scares—all users. In my view, smart robot behaviour is of great importance, because users will abandon robots that do not prove to be smart and useful.”

Image: Comfreak/ Pixabay