logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2023
1h 7m

Selects: Is The Uncanny Valley Real?

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

In 1970, roboticist Masahiro Mori wrote an essay that said the closer robots come to lifelike, the more they unsettle humans. His theory became the Uncanny Valley, and science has been evaluating it – and what makes something creepy - in recent years. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Today
The Fall of the USSR, Pt I
It’s rare that the downfall of an empire can be chalked up to the decisions of just one person. It’s even rarer, when the empire falls over the course of a year. That’s pretty much what happened with the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved it.See omnystudio.com/listener ... Show More
41m 22s
Aug 22
Selects: How Narcolepsy Works
Narcolepsy is one of those amazing rare disorders that everyone thinks they understand – people just fall asleep at random times, even in the middle of doing something. But there’s a lot more to it and – even better – we actually may be able to explain it. Josh and Chuck run it d ... Show More
52m 42s
Aug 20
Rope, yeah ROPE!
Rope is one of the unsung heroes of the world of inventions. Think about it. Then let us tell you about it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
43m 31s
Recommended Episodes
May 2019
From the Vault: Beyond the Uncanny Valley
From bad CGI characters to creepy humanoid robots, everyone knows the uncanny valley effect when they see it. But where did this idea come from and to what extent is it actually a thing? Join Robert and Joe as they descend into the uncanny valley and explore just what's going on ... Show More
53m 5s
Jul 2023
Uncanny
Ryan and Todd analyze Freud's essay "The Uncanny" and the broader implications of this concept. They discuss the importance of the uncanny for understanding the horror film and focus on the difference between a psychoanalytic approach to the concept and the notion of the uncanny ... Show More
1h 14m
Mar 2020
A fascinating time capsule of human feelings toward AI | Lucy Farey-Jones
How comfortable are you with robots taking over your life? Covering a wide range of potential applications -- from the mundane (robot house cleaner) to the mischievous (robot sex partner) to the downright macabre (uploading your brain to live on after death) -- technology strateg ... Show More
5m 26s
Sep 2024
The Future of Robot “Servants”
The human world is increasingly 'assisted' by a pantheon of automations. Yet this emergent reality brings to bear fundamental philosophical quandries about the nature of not only the mind but the soul of things called 'artificial.' In tonight's episode, sponsored by Illumination ... Show More
1h 14m
Jul 2025
Love Bug | 2
Spiegelbonks.. robosexuals.. and a shadowy figure named Daniel Todd.. Travis discovers a strange new reality inside the AI community. While worrying news arrives at home.Listen to Flesh and Code on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-fre ... Show More
36m 44s
Nov 2016
The Creep
<p>You've all witnessed and been witnessed by the Creep, but what attributes compose this unsettling character? Why do we fear the creep and what, indeed, are we to make of the Creep in the mirror? Join Robert and Joe for an autopsy of this most unsavory archetype.</p><p> </p> Le ... Show More
1h 14m
May 2022
From the Vault: Punish the Machine, Part 1
What will we do when robots and artificial intelligences break the law? In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the issue of robot moral and legal agency. (originally published 4/13/21)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
1h 1m
Sep 2024
Are Robots Going to Take Over the World?!?!?
AI technology is super trendy, but can also be super scary! The 3D Printing Doctor not only makes really fun trinkets and videos with his machines, he is actually a real scientist who specializes in AI and robotics! We asked him if there was any real possibility of robots taking ... Show More
54m 17s