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The Uncanny Valley
Sep. 10th, 2004 12:31 pmRecently I've been reading discussions about CGI, and whether it'll ever replace real actors. The discussion brought up the idea (not new, I know) of the 'Uncanny Valley'... that is, when a CGI character is obviously CGI because it couldn't be human, because it's cartoonish, or whatever, we often find it endearing and cute and can relate to it... but the closer you get to reality, you get into the 'Uncanny Valley', where it's very close to the real thing that the differences between them and a human is jarring and vaguely unsettling because it's just not quite like a real human, but it's close. (The same sort of thing applies in non-CGI concepts... an android, for example, or even heavy makeup like was used in the movie 'White Chicks' can also cross into 'Uncanny Valley' territory).
All good there. But then I got to thinking... why be unsettled? I mean, it's fair enough to think 'Oh, that's not real' and just treat it as though it's not real, like any other cartoon... but be unsettling? Now I occasionally like to think of things in evolutionary terms... that is, why would a certain characteristic have been helpful to survival in the past. So, naturally, my mind wandered and tried to look at reasons why being unsettled at a not-quite-human-looking image would be beneficial.
And then it hit me. Imagine a predatory race with shapeshifting and mimicry abilities. They're not perfect, but they're good. They're not human, but they can put up a damn good imitation of being human. Who would survive best against them? Why, those who are naturally unsettled by people who are very close to human, but 'off', just slightly. So, we'd slowly evolve this distaste, this unsettlement for the presence of these Mimicmen.
Now, of course, there's no evidence for these people. So, maybe these Mimicmen are extinct, and we just harbor the leftover instincts because they're not actually _harmful_ to us.
Or maybe, as sometimes happens in competetive co-evolution, the Mimicmen simply got _better_ at hiding among us.
TRUST NO ONE!
All good there. But then I got to thinking... why be unsettled? I mean, it's fair enough to think 'Oh, that's not real' and just treat it as though it's not real, like any other cartoon... but be unsettling? Now I occasionally like to think of things in evolutionary terms... that is, why would a certain characteristic have been helpful to survival in the past. So, naturally, my mind wandered and tried to look at reasons why being unsettled at a not-quite-human-looking image would be beneficial.
And then it hit me. Imagine a predatory race with shapeshifting and mimicry abilities. They're not perfect, but they're good. They're not human, but they can put up a damn good imitation of being human. Who would survive best against them? Why, those who are naturally unsettled by people who are very close to human, but 'off', just slightly. So, we'd slowly evolve this distaste, this unsettlement for the presence of these Mimicmen.
Now, of course, there's no evidence for these people. So, maybe these Mimicmen are extinct, and we just harbor the leftover instincts because they're not actually _harmful_ to us.
Or maybe, as sometimes happens in competetive co-evolution, the Mimicmen simply got _better_ at hiding among us.
TRUST NO ONE!
