The Uncanny Valley

There are generally two methodologies to robot technology: humanoid robots designed to simulate the human form and function as closely as possible and the utilitarian robots designed to perform dirty and dangerous tasks quickly and efficiently. With a few exceptions the Japanese are the leading creators of humanoid robots.

These robots can look and move surprisingly human and when they become too human researches have noticed a reaction of revulsion from viewers. This increased level of discomfort with these machines is known as the uncanny valley.

The concept of "the uncanny" was developed in the early 1900's by psychologists is an object that is very familiar but at the same time unfamiliar. This contradiction creates an feeling of anxiety in the people viewing the uncanny object. In reference to robotics, the term "uncanny valley" was created by roboticist Mashario Mori. It specifically refers to the dip noticed when the emotional response of human subjects are plotted against how "human" a robot appears.

Something like an industrial robot is very inhuman and therefore there is little emotional reaction from observing humans. Toys and stuffed animals are slightly more human but cute and generally elicit positive emotional reactions. The drop into the uncanny valley begins with a dead human body. It is very human like in form but unfamiliar in a negative way. Therefore the emotional reaction is generally negative. A humanoid robot is much like a zombie in that it looks like a human and moves like one. All the signs of human life are there but something is missing.

The concept of the uncanny is generally important only in the design of human robot and robotic interface systems. The problem has caught the attention of digital movie makers which have noticed strong negative reactions to very human looking characters in animated movies. A good example of this is in the 2004 movie The Polar Express. In this film Tom Hanks character looks and behaves extremely life like, but it is still a digital representation and lacks the true human character. As a result viewers feel uncomfortable and disturbed by the portrayal and describe the movie as "creepy" or otherwise unsettling. This effect has also been noted in Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within and Beowulf which, all where not highly successful movies.

Obviously the problem is not with digital movies in general: Shrek, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story all feature digital creatures that where tremendously popular with both adults and children. Pixar has built an empire on these movies which are cheap and easy to produce. The difference is these characters where not designed like humans. Like stuffed animals they are, while still human-like, ultimately cute or cartoonish representations of the human form. This design avoids the pitfall of the uncanny valley.

The human face alone has dozens of degrees of freedom. To fully and faithful represent this level of complexity requires mechanical systems and software that simply does not exist today. In order to create a humanoid robot that does not make the user uncomfortable much more work needs to be done. Perhaps the best choice for today's robots are machine-like- think Roomba.

Santiago Calatrava

Architecture is art for the every day. It must be both practical and visually attractive at the same time. The blending of these two criterion takes a person with specialized skills. One able to create beautiful objectives that serve clear purposes.

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava is one of these unique individuals. Calatrava was born in Valencia in 1951 and went on to study civil engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. There, his research focused heavily on cantilever and truss design. His doctoral thesis was titled "On the Foldability of Space Frames".

Calatrava's designs are truly unique and have thrust him into the spotlight as one of the preeminent architects of today. Many of his buildings incorporate cantilevers such as the bridge at the top of this post.


His buildings are predominantly white and mimic the look of a bone structure. They are light in appearance and blend in well against a backdrop of the blue sky. These buildings are extremely natural and fit into their locations as well as any other living organism. Calatrava's buildings are a great representation of humanity represented through architecture.

The Prophetic Powers of Art

It seems that one can identify numerous examples where artists, through their creations, seemed to predict future events. Almost as though these people are equipped with advanced knowledge of what is to come. What is it that allows them to see what so many others cannot?

Artists, to be good artists, must posses a very finely tuned sense of the present since they draw their inspirations from what is around them. Because of this they are able to more easily make cause and effect connections between unrelated happenings in the world. They are more likley to notice what events and traits in people are going to not work out so well.

If we look at music and literature we see these examples. Mary Shelley wrote of Frankenstein, the scientist who in his quest for knowledge creates an monster that threatens the world. About a century later scientists in the United States would create the atomic bomb.

The middle symphonies of Gustav Mahler seem to predict two events. The tragic nature of his sixth seems to allude to three disasters in his own life: his firing from the Vienna Opera due to his Jewish ethnicty, the death of his eldest daughter, and finally his own death to heart disease. On a broader scale these symphonies foreshadow the violence of the coming 21st century.

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance

The title of this 1982 documentary is derived from the Hopi word that roughly translates to "life out of balance." In breaking with traditional documentary style, this one word is nearly the only word mentioned in the film's 87 minute running time. Furthermore this is not merely spoken but instead repeatedly chanted by a single basso profundo atop a lamenting phrase played by an organ. This film does not consist of words and scene, but of scene and music. Images that show the frenetic pace of our technology laden world and music that instills in the viewer a feeling of urgency and chaotic anxiety.

Koyannisqatsi is not a film about technology's effect on human life and culture. This film is, as any great work of art is, intentionally open ended to allow the viewer to see what he wants to see. In it simplest terms this film depicts human life immersed in technology. It is not forcing an opinion on the viewer or attempting to settle some battle between the human and the machine. Instead it shows, for better or for worse, condition of everyone in our society: simultaneously benefiting and suffering as a result of technology. Godfrey Reggio, the films producer and director describes his film in the following way:

"these films have never been about the effect of technology, of industry on people. It's been that everyone: politics, education, things of the financial structure, the nation state structure, language, the culture, religion, all of that exists within the host of technology. So it's not the effect of, it's that everything exists within [technology]. It's not that we use technology, we live technology. Technology has become as ubiquitous as the air we breathe..."

The film is the result of a strong collaboration between Reggio and American minimalist composer Philip Glass. Glass' compositional style, using electronic synthesizers combined with organic strings and voice playing endlessly repeating ostinato figures, fits perfectly with the subject and themes of the movie adding a new dimension to the superb cinematography. Due to this close cooperation between director and composer, this film and soundtrack positively compliment each other, producing an experience of deep emotional impact and cultural significance. So much so that the U.S. Library of Congress accepted this film into the National Film Registry in 2000.

Koyaanisqatsi and its soundtrack are both currently available through bookstores and are part of a trilogy of "Qatsi" (meaning "life") films Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi.

Ethical Robots

This summer I came across a very interesting set of papers written by Ronald Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology. These papers outlined the foundation of an ethical control and reasoning system for autonomous warfare platforms and would reasonably include both ground robotic systems and Unmanned Aeriel Vehicles (UAV). This software was designed around the U.S. military's Laws of War and Rules of Engagement and funded in part by the U.S. Army.

Meanwhile, in the news where reports of lethal aerial drone attacks on targets in Pakistan. Although these attacks where controlled and authorized by human controllers, it is not far outside the scope of the technology to enable the autonomous platform to make its own lethal decisions. Foster-Miller, a leading maker of warfare robots, has introduced a heavily armed version of their TALON platform for use in combat. YouTube videos show this robot equipped with a machine-gun and engaging dummy targets. See here. Again, these devices a currently controlled exclusively by a human operator and no artificial intelligence is currently in charge of fire control. But it shows that the hardware exists and the only existing challenge is one of software.

The current direction of research is toward increasingly autonomous systems, including independent fire control. This technology is no so far off. Therefore, ethical software on these machines is needed to prevent them from making unethical or illegal decisions.

The popular fear surrounding this technology is the "Terminator" or "Matrix" scenario in which vast numbers of sentient military robots turn on their human creators and either enslave or massacre the entire human-race. This concept it far from reality at this point as robots a far from conscious and still need human intervention to remain operation (such as recharging the batteries.) But this fear is understandable. The thought of unfeeling machines armed with weapons and unable to differentiate between a soldier armed with a AK-47 and young girl holding an ice cream cone is unnerving. I can safely say I wouldn't want to be within range of one of these robots in constant fear that a single glitch could result in the robot firing armor piercing rounds at anything that moves.

Ultimately progress toward this goal will continue and one day, soon, we will hear about completely autonomous aircraft and ground robots on the fighting on the world's battle fronts. For this to be a reality these machines must be embedded with ethical logic and control. I for one hope that this will bring about a new era of warfare where machines, not men, fight and military superiority is determined by who has the best AI and strategy; much like a large, expensive video game. But I'm afraid this vision may be overly naive. Regardless of the outcome, it is essential that we imbibe these machines with at least a trace of humanity before we equip them with weaponry.

Intellectual Property and DNA

In 2003 researchers with the Human Genome Project completed a map of all 3 million DNA base pairs of human DNA. This makes up roughly 700 megabytes of raw data or slightly more data than can fit on the average CD.

Human DNA is a chemical compound, deoxyribonucleic acid to be exact, and like any other chemical compound can be patented. This is subject to certain restrictions. To be patented the subject would have to be useful, non-obvious and and new. For instance, DNA that has unexpected features or contains medically useful function and resulted from the work of scientist could be patented.

This reality raises the question of whether it is moral to allow an individual or company to claim ownership rights to human genetic material. What ownership rights does an individual have to her own genetic material and should this unique material be protected by property laws?

With regard to patents, research institutes argue that they cannot be expected to invest larges sums of money in new medical technologies if they cannot expect to be allowed to claim some ownership of the fruits of their labor. This legal protection allows them a certain amount of time to hold monopoly over their market and recuperate their initial investment. Without this benefit it makes no sense to do the research and society suffers the loss of a potential new technology.

Critics argue that this treatment of DNA violates an individuals right to property and privacy and threatens to reduce a human to an invention. Currently law enforcement agencies are working to build massive databases of DNA samples of criminals. The concern is that as databases are established for groups such as felons and sex offenders public opinion may relax and arguments may be made to expand these databases to include large groups of people. This could then allow employers, insurance companies and governments to use genetic information for profiling. Ultimately this practice results in violation of the Fourth Amendment which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure.

Welcome!

Welcome,

This is a blog I am creating as part of the course Art and Technology that I am currently taking at the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

This class examines the connections between artistic and technological creation and attempts to locate the boundary between the human and the machine.

I will be updating roughly each week by contributing my take on the class discussions.

Please check back in the future for more updates.