Sex with Robots

It's been a while since I've mentioned anything about uncanny valley, but Stephen Colbert has instigated the conversation a bit with this interview of David Levy, author of Love and Sex With Robots.

Uncanny Valley: Reflection

I've been staying in a hotel the past couple days, and in my room there were a whole bunch of mirrors in and around the bathroom. They were set up in such a way that when I walked out of the bathroom, just after passing the threshold, there was a reflection of a reflection of a reflection that made it look like someone was behind me, walking in the opposite direction. Of course, it was me, but that didn't keep me from being startled for a second each time I saw it.

I meant to take a picture, but I forgot.

Let's do this thing

Or not. This is a test to see if I really want to do this. It's not like I don't already spend way too many hours a day working and recreating on the Internet.

Here's what happened. I was reading an article and came across the phrase "Uncanny Valley." I find this idea fascinting. Basically, it's a theory that says that the more humanoid and life-like a robot or other non-human thing is, the more positive our reaction will be to it. Up to a point. And then there's a sudden and dramatic drop and the reaction turns to repulsion. The theory can be applied to inanimate things - like a stuffed animal - or ambulatory non-mechanical things - like zombies. There's even a chart!



Anyway, I was talking to someone about it and I said "If I had a blog, I'd post about this." He suggeted I start one. So, we'll see. Just because I'm doing this doesn't mean I'm really doing this.