The Creepy Feeling in the Uncanny Valley

Almost — but not quite — humanlike robots can freak us out. But for roboticists, that feeling is an opportunity to get things right.

By Avery Hurt
Nov 4, 2021 5:00 AMNov 10, 2021 2:40 PM
Uncanny valley robot
(Credit: Ned Snowman/Shutterstock)

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In his 2003 book, The Uncanny: An Introduction, Nicholas Royle describes the uncanny as "concerned with the strange, weird, and mysterious, with a flickering sense (but not conviction) of something supernatural." The uncanny, Royle continues, is also marked by feelings of uncertainty, inciting doubt about the very nature of reality itself.

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