Companion robots: the hallucinatory danger of human-robot interactions

The advent of the so-called Companion Robots is raising many ethical concerns among scholars and in the public opinion. Focusing mainly on robots caring for the elderly, in this paper we analyze these concerns to distinguish which are directly ascribable to robotic, and which are instead preexistent. One of these is the “deception objection”, namely the ethical unacceptability of deceiving the user about the simulated nature of the robot’s behaviors. We argue on the inconsistency of this charge, as today formulated. After that, we underline the risk, for human-robot interaction, to become a hallucinatory relation where the human would subjectify the robot in a dynamic of meaning-overload. Finally, we analyze the definition of “quasi-other” relating to the notion of “uncanny”. The goal of this paper is to argue that the main concern about Companion Robots is the simulation of a human-like interaction in the absence of an autonomous robotic horizon of meaning. In addition, that absence could lead the human to build a hallucinatory reality based on the relation with the robot

The commonplace of man in the times of anthropomorphic and intelligent robots

Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie toposu człowieka w nawiązaniu do teorii mimesis na tle analizy współczesnych przykładów antropomorficznych, inteligentnych robotów. Uwzględnione są dwie warstwy analizy: pierwsza, wiążąca się z upodabnianiem takich robotów do wyidealizowanego ludzkiego ciała oraz druga, w której uwzględnia się podobieństwo powyższych robotów do człowieka w warstwie mentalnej, co wiąże się z zagadnieniem sztucznej inteligencji. Większość zaprezentowanych przykładów pochodzi ze świata sztuki, będąc efektem interdyscyplinarnej współpracy artystów z inżynierami. Artykuł zawiera analizę porównawczą, jak również część treści wynika z obserwacji uczestniczącej, co wiąże się w szeregu przypadkach z kontaktem autora tekstu z prezentowanymi inteligentnymi robotami.The objective of this paper is to discuss the commonplace of man in relation to the theory of mimesis in the context of the analysis of current examples of anthropomorphic and intelligent robots. Two aspects of the analysis have been taken into consideration. The first one is linked with the similarities of such robots to the idealized human body and the second one acknowledges mental similarities between the robots and humans, which entail the question of artificial intelligence. Most of the quoted examples derive from the world of art which has beco­me an interdisciplinary area of collaboration between artists and engineers. This contribution contains a comparative study and a part of it, in many cases, involves the contributor’s observa­tions on the presented intelligent robots

A Bayesian explanation of the 'Uncanny Valley' effect and related psychological phenomena

There are a number of psychological phenomena in which dramatic emotional responses are evoked by seemingly innocuous perceptual stimuli. A well known example is the ‘uncanny valley’ effect whereby a near human-looking artifact can trigger feelings of eeriness and repulsion. Although such phenomena are reasonably well documented, there is no quantitative explanation for the findings and no mathematical model that is capable of predicting such behavior. Here I show (using a Bayesian model of categorical perception) that differential perceptual distortion arising from stimuli containing conflicting cues can give rise to a perceptual tension at category boundaries that could account for these phenomena. The model is not only the first quantitative explanation of the uncanny valley effect, but it may also provide a mathematical explanation for a range of social situations in which conflicting cues give rise to negative, fearful or even violent reactions

Studi Tentang Digitalisasi Ondel-Ondel Betawi Melalui Teknologi 3D Animasi

Indonesia kaya akan warisan budaya, salah satu ragam warisan budaya yang terdapat di Indonesia adalah seni pertunjukan tradisional. Seni pertunjukan ini melibatkan peran individu atau kelompok di dalam satu waktu dan ruang. Kesenian tradisional merupakan identitas kultural masyarakat lokal. Hal ini merupakan wajib menjadi pertahanan identitas masyarakat tersebut, agar tidak kehilangan jati diri dalam masyarakat berbudaya. Terlebih lagi arus globalisasi yang membuat budaya tradisional mulai kurang di apresiasi, dibandingkan budaya global. Ondel-ondel merupakan salah satu seni pertunjukan tradisional, memiliki nilai ikonik dan komersial. Apresiasi terhadap Ondel-ondel pun mulai pudar, melalui penelitian ini bagaimana membuat produksi animasi 3D digital untuk Ondel-ondel Betawi. Data didapatkan melalui experimental visual dan gerak, kemudian data di analisa dan di deskripsikan.  Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah menjadi kajian prinsip gerak terhadap kesenian pertunjukan tradisional, sehingga masyarakat dapat menikmati kesenian tradisional Indonesia dalam media yang baru

Overcoming the uncanny valley: Displays of emotions reduce the uncanniness of humanlike robots

In this paper we show empirically that highly humanlike robots make thoughts of death more accessible, leading to perceptions of uncanniness and eeriness of such robots. Rather than reducing the humanlikeness of robots, our research suggests the addition of emotion displays to decrease a sense of uncanniness. We show that a highly humanlike robot displaying emotions in a social context reduces death-thought accessibility (DTA), which in turn reduces uncanniness. In a pre-test with N = 95 participants, we established that not all humanoid robots elicit thoughts of death and that the extent to which a robot appears humanlike may be linked to DTA. In our Main Study, N = 44 participants briefly interacted with a highly humanlike robotic head that either showed appropriate basic emotions or reacted by blinking. The display of emotions significantly reduced perceptions of uncanniness, which was mediated by a corresponding reduction in DTA. Implications for the design of humanoid robots are proposed.EPSR

The evocation and expression of emotion through documentary animation

How might an animator distil and study emotion? Could animation itself be a means to unlock meaning that previous experiments have not been able to access? Animation has the power to both highlight and conceal emotions as expressed through body movement and gesture. When we view live action (human interview) documentary footage, we are exposed not just to the spoken words, but the subtle nuances of body movements. How much might be lost when documentary footage is transposed into animation, or indeed, what might be gained, translated through the personal and artistic view of the animator? Drawing on my own previous experience as a games animator, now using research through practice methodology, this paper explores the results of the first of a series of animations created to explore the more subtle nuances of gesture. Though the medium of a documentary style interview, opposing topics are used to evoke strong emotions; firstly of happiness, then of sadness, with a view to accessing real rather than acted (simulated) emotions and their associated body movements

The evocation and expression of emotion through documentary animation

How might an animator distil and study emotion? Could animation itself be a means to unlock meaning that previous experiments have not been able to access? Animation has the power to both highlight and conceal emotions as expressed through body movement and gesture. When we view live action (human interview) documentary footage, we are exposed not just to the spoken words, but the subtle nuances of body movements. How much might be lost when documentary footage is transposed into animation, or indeed, what might be gained, translated through the personal and artistic view of the animator? Drawing on my own previous experience as a games animator, now using research through practice methodology, this paper explores the results of the first of a series of animations created to explore the more subtle nuances of gesture. Though the medium of a documentary style interview, opposing topics are used to evoke strong emotions; firstly of happiness, then of sadness, with a view to accessing real rather than acted (simulated) emotions and their associated body movements