Till your death do us part – drawings
Some initial sketches forming the foundation of my project.
Archived entries for Cyborgs
The Uncanny Valley theory
The Uncanny Valley is a hypothesis put forward by roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970. He theorises that robots which are very similar to humans, bot not perfect, will cause revulsion and/or feeling of ‘strangeness’ (‘valley’ being a dip in acceptance and positive reaction as shown on the graph above). Before that point it is possible for a human to react to it in a positive way. One the robot reaches perfect human appearance, motion and behaviour, it comes out of the Uncanny Valley and can elicit a positive response.
The theory was coined before it could be tested, and it still hasn’t been given rigorous scientific scrutiny, therefore it’s still a speculation whether it actually exist and what is the process behind it. However, in one of the studies the evidence seems to suggest that it exist in primates as well as humans, giving weight to claims that it is an evolutionary cognitive mechanism to protect coming into contact with diseased/unhealthy individual.
I don’t think it only applies to robots. Take a look at this retouching example, which for me is definitely weird:
Or this plastic surgery example:
Or this RealDoll (NSFW):
Stelarc
Stelarc is an Australian performance artist whose interests lie in expanding the body as a means to expanding the mind. It’s easy to dismiss Stelarc as a nutter, after all this is the guy that had a real, working ear implanted on his arm as a piece of art. Whether you like his art or not, the ideas he deals with are really interesting and worth thinking about. Here’s why he believes that bodies will inevitably be augmented as the technology improves:
Bodies are both Zombies and Cyborgs. We have never had a mind of our own and we often perform involuntary conditioned and externally prompted. Ever since we evolved as hominids and developed bipedal locomotion, two limbs became manipulators and we constructed artifacts, instruments and machines. In other words, we have always been coupled with our technology. We have always been prosthetic bodies. We fear the involuntary and we are becoming increasingly involuntary and extended. But we fear what we have always been and what we have already become – Zombies and Cyborgs. (via ElectronicsInfoline)
Personally, I find extending the body with bionic tools and enhancements rather exciting and I agree it’s a natural progression of using tools; at the same time I am completely baffled by manipulation and augmentation of the body for cosmetic purposes.
Glossary
cyborg (ˈsaɪˌbɔːɡ)
— n
(in science fiction) a living being whose powers are enhanced bycomputer implants or mechanical body parts
[C20: from cyb ( ernetic ) org ( anism )]
robot (ˈrəʊbɒt)
— n
- any automated machine programmed to perform specificmechanical functions in the manner of a man
- ( modifier ) not controlled by man; automatic: a robot pilot
- a person who works or behaves like a machine; automaton
[C20: (used in R.U.R. , a play by Karel Čapek ) from Czech robota work; related to Old Slavonic rabota servitude, German Arbeit work]
android (ˈændrɔɪd)
— n
(in science fiction) a robot resembling a human being
— adj
resembling a human being
[C18: from Late Greek androeidēs manlike; see andro- , -oid ]
(Collins English Dictionary)