A crucial consideration in any field where realistic human likenesses are created artificially.

Uncanny Valley #

There was a study in 2009 (Harvard) drawing negative correlation between virtue and communal reward. Can you describe this study and its findings? #

From a quick search, here’s what I discovered.

The study you are referring to, seemingly associated with Harvard and focusing on the correlation between virtue and communal reward, doesn’t appear to match precisely with any specific study conducted in 2009. However, there are related themes in studies from that period which explore the nature of happiness, virtue, and communal relationships.

One significant study from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego in 2008, not precisely matching your description but relevant, explored the collective aspect of happiness. This study, published in the BMJ, investigated the spread of happiness through social networks, demonstrating that happiness is not just an individual experience but a collective phenomenon. The researchers found that happiness can spread up to three degrees within a network; meaning, one person’s happiness can positively influence not just their friends, but their friends’ friends, and even the friends of these friends. However, this contagion of happiness is constrained by time and geography, showing a stronger effect when people are closer in terms of physical proximity and the influence tapers off after about a year. This study underlines the interconnectedness of people’s emotional states within their social networks.

Another relevant work, though not a study per se, is the philosophical exploration of the concept of virtue and its rewards. This includes discussions on the nature of happiness, the role of virtue in achieving it, and how societal and communal factors influence individual well-being. Philosophers like Aristotle have long debated whether virtue leads to happiness and whether this happiness is an intrinsic reward of virtuous living.

While these references do not directly address a negative correlation between virtue and communal reward, they contribute to the broader understanding of how virtue, happiness, and social relationships interplay in complex and often interdependent ways.

Experiments were run by Daniel Wagner and Kurt Gray. #

I couldn’t find a specific study from 2009 by Daniel Wagner and Kurt Gray that directly discusses the negative correlation between virtue and communal reward. However, there are studies and philosophical discussions around the nature of virtue, happiness, and their relation to communal and individual well-being. These discussions explore various aspects of how virtue and moral behavior interact with personal and communal happiness, drawing on philosophical perspectives and moral psychology. The complexity of these relationships highlights the ongoing debate and exploration in the field of moral philosophy and psychology.

Any other experimental studies by Daniel Wagner and Kurt Gray? #

Kurt Gray and Daniel M. Wegner have collaborated on several experimental studies exploring various aspects of human psychology. One notable study they conducted focuses on the perception of mind in robots and humans, particularly examining the “uncanny valley” phenomenon. This concept refers to the unsettling feeling people experience when they encounter robots or other entities that are nearly, but not quite, human-like in appearance.

Gray and Wegner’s research in this area delved into the idea that humanlike robots can be unnerving because they prompt people to ascribe experiences to these machines. Their studies suggest that the feelings of uncanniness are closely tied to perceptions of experience, indicating that experience, but not necessarily agency, is seen as a fundamental aspect of humans and is generally lacking in machines.

Another significant study by Gray and Wegner explored the perception of guilt and the effectiveness of torture. This study examined how the pain inflicted during torture can influence perceptions of guilt, suggesting that torture may not necessarily uncover guilt but can lead to its perception. The research involved a scenario where participants observed a woman supposedly undergoing torture (by immersing her hand in ice water) and found that the more she appeared to suffer, the guiltier she was perceived to be.

This finding was particularly pronounced among participants who felt complicit in the torture, as they tended to justify the torture and link the victim’s pain to blame. In contrast, participants who were less directly involved were more likely to sympathize with the victim and associate their pain with innocence. This study provides insights into how witnessing others in pain can influence moral judgments and beliefs about the justifiability of torture.

These studies contribute significantly to our understanding of human psychology, particularly in the areas of mind perception, the effects of human-like appearance in artificial entities, and the psychological dynamics of torture and guilt perception.

Describe “uncanny valley” phenomenon in more detail. #

The “uncanny valley” is a concept in robotics and 3D computer animation which refers to the observation that as a robot or an animated character becomes more humanlike, it becomes more appealing to people up to a certain point, after which small imperfections make these near-human figures seem eerie or repulsive. This phenomenon was first identified by the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970.

The term itself, “uncanny valley”, is derived from Mori’s graph which plots the positive emotional response of humans to robots against the increasing human likeness of those robots. The graph shows that as robots become more humanlike, our affinity for them increases, but only to a certain degree. Once a robot becomes almost but not quite entirely lifelike (thus falling into the ‘valley’), its minor imperfections or unnatural features become increasingly unsettling, provoking a sense of eeriness or discomfort.

This phenomenon is particularly relevant in the fields of robotics, 3D animation, and computer-generated imagery (CGI) in films and video games. The uncanny valley can be a significant challenge when creating realistic human characters. If these characters are not perfectly lifelike, they can induce discomfort in the audience, which can be detrimental to the user experience.

Several theories have been proposed to explain the uncanny valley. One suggests that entities that appear almost human but not quite right provoke a sense of unease because of their similarity to corpses, thus triggering a biological fear of death or disease. Another theory posits that the uncanny valley is a result of mismatched cues: when something looks human but moves unnaturally, or vice versa, it confuses our perceptual expectations.

It’s important to note that the uncanny valley is not a universally experienced phenomenon; its effect can vary based on individual differences and cultural background. However, it remains a crucial consideration in any field where realistic human likenesses are created artificially.