GoodFacts: The Uncanny Valley ??

With the rising popularity of ChatGPT, self-driving cars, and robotics, people are returning to the age-old question: Are robots good or bad? It is an interesting question. It is an important question. But it is not the question that GoodFacts wishes to explore this week. No, we want to ask something adjacent but no less fascinating: Are robots cute??

Coined by Masahiro Mori in 1970, ‘The Uncanny Valley’ describes the relationship between an object’s resemblance to humanity and our emotional response to it. The uncanny valley is the eerie sensation we get when robots — or androids — look pretty similar to humans but fail to replicate our likeness. It gives people the ick. Basically, we want them to look totally different, like WALL–E, or be virtually indistinguishable.?

In a world with ageing populations, climate change, and industrial automation, robots have become essential to modern life. So it would seem that for androids to integrate into society, they must be cute.?

Check out these facts:?

?? The words ‘android’ and ‘robot’ have different meanings. An android is a robot that looks like a human

?? The term ‘robot’ comes from the Czech word ‘robota,’ meaning ‘forced labor’

?? Fantasy and sci-fi books are the 3rd most popular fiction genre, after romance and mystery?

???? About half of the world's robots are made and used in Japan?

?? Saudi Arabia granted citizenship to a social humanoid android named "Sophia."?

This week’s challenge features an illustration by Richard Sargent, which has 180 different robots. Can you find WALL–E? And how many robots can you name? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll reveal WALL–E’s location in two weeks’ time!

Last time we asked you to match up animals with words describing their species in a group.?

Here are the answers: crows + murder; ravens + unkindness; eagles + convocation; falcons + cast; finches + charm.?