Nr 21/2024 Emocje i projektowanie
6 Emotional Uncanny Valley

Nr 21/2024 Emocje i projektowanie

Biblioteka
  1. Wstęp 21

  2. Nawigowanie w krajobrazie emocji

  3. Projektowanie przyjemności użytkownika w relacjach z przedmiotami

  4. Komizm a dizajn. Śmiech jako krytyka i terapia

  5. Aby emocje znów były wyjątkowe

  6. Relacje emocjonalne z rzeczami

  7. Emocjonalna dolina osobliwości


6 Emotional Uncanny Valley

The uncanny valley hypothesis (UVH) states that “almost all” artificial characters (physical or animated) elicit the sense of terror, anxiety or discomfort in some observers. This phenomenon is quite well-described in the world of robotics (computer generated imagery, CGI) and the works in the area of artificial intelligence. At the same time, most of statements on such issues concentrate on hypothetical (cognitive) mechanism, which could explain the above-mentioned emotional reactions on the recipient’s side, and possibly on how engineers and designers could work on minimising such – still unwanted – experience. Currently, along with very dynamic development of generative artificial intelligence, we can come across a situation, where an artificial system (AI) not only attempts to morphologically imitate humans, but also communicate with them in a way suggesting the presence of a being somehow endowed with emotions and even empathy on the other side. Importantly, the progress of affective and embodied systems can be a fundamental step in the development of artificial intelligence, which could enter another spheres of our functioning. At the same time, emotional sensors sometimes communicate that feelings expressed by AI systems are still fake. This phenomenon can take a form of what I would like to call the emotional uncanny valley (EUV). Designers, therefore, are facing the challenge of making innovative communication interfaces, oriented towards minimising such affective artificiality, until it is no longer disturbing, and even becomes desirable. They could, however, take another way and co-design with AI systems. In such event, rather than looking for “human” emotions in these interactions, we will design new experience, meanings and feeling, from another order and unique to the new, human–non-human relationship. Thereby, we will introduce emotional design (with AI) to the area of the intentionally non-anthropocentric, more-than-human emotional design, in which case speaking of the emotional uncanny valley will no longer make much sense.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, digital design, human–non-human interactions, emotional uncanny valley