A new study finds people prefer their androids to have human-like features – up to a point. Psychologists at Emory University recently documented how people reacted to androids with a variety of features, from very human-looking to clearly machine-like. Their findings, published in the journal Perception, challenge some long-held assumptions about the cognitive mechanics behind “the uncanny valley” – that sensation when something designed to look human and familiar triggers repulsion instead.
The mind-perception theory posits that when people see a machine that looks human, they believe it has a mind and that’s what causes a sense of unease. But Emory’s study suggests the opposite is actually true.
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