Prosthetics, Robotics, and the “Uncanny”

The phrase “uncanny valley” is frequently used today to connote the creepiness of humanoid robots that look almost human but not entirely so. This use of the phrase, however, diverges from its original context of Japanese prosthetics in the 1960s. This talk uncovers the developments in the history of Japanese myoelectric prosthetics that led to the emergence of the notion of “uncanny valley,” and examines the historical usage of the Japanese term bukimi, which came to be translated into English as “uncanny.” The talk also explores what putting the “uncanny” back in its historical context of 1960s Japan can tell us about the history of Japanese robotics, and what implications this alternative meaning has for our understanding of human-machine interaction.