Let's Discuss the Uncanny Valley

Let's discuss the Uncanny Valley. The Concept of the uncanny valley was introduced by the Japanese robotics professor, Masahiro Mori. It states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its

appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathetic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong revulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels. In simple terms, we will like robots as long as they look like robots. The moment they begin to look like humans we will reject them until we literally cannot tell that they're robots anymore. 

I personally find it interesting that we experience a level of discomfort as the robot becomes more humanlike. Even more so than that I was surprised to see that the CGI for polar express made viewers uncomfortable. Because of this, it has led me to pose a question to the class; At what point do you personally begin to feel discomfort. For me, it isn't until there is a physical robot in front of me that can be mistaken for a human being. Where do you draw the line?

While we're on the subject of varying levels of comfortability, let's examine the relationship of the 

Ash(s). Martha and Ash had a "functioning"relationship. Like all relationships it had its problems (Ash was always on his phone), but it worked. Until Ash died and it didn't. Then as a method of coping she messaged an AI that used Ash's digital self to replicate Ash. Then she talked to it by sharing videos of Ash and finally she had a whole body made that looked exactly like Ash. It had all of his best qualities. For a brief moment, it worked. It gave her more time with Ash. But that sneaky uncanny valley decided to pop up. Although she had all of the best parts of Ash, she quickly realized that she didn't have Ash; she had a copy. This new Ash didn't have the intimate shared experiences or the faults that the old one had. He was missing what kept her in love with Ash day after day after day. In a way the absence of the things she really wanted from Ash shined light on the fact that this was just a duplicate. Because of this, she became dissatisfied and uncomfortable. For her, the valley had a very steep climb to the other side; only the true Ash would satisfy her.