Seeing human-like robots, dolls, and AI-generated faces can trigger eerie, put-off feelings towards the figure, a phenomenon known as the uncanny valley. Though these figures look almost human, there is just something slightly off about them. It could be the unblinking eyes, unnatural stillness, or — for AI-generated figures — poorly synced facial and lip movements.
Recently, researchers from the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) in Bochum, Germany, have noticed AI-generated avatars of notable scientists, like Marie Curie and Nikola Tesla, circulating on social media platforms like TikTok. In these videos, the AI replica scientists would explain who they were and what sort of experiments they worked on. This had researchers from CAIS wondering if these AI avatars triggered the uncanny valley in viewers.
For this study, published in the Journal of Science Communication, Jasmin Baake, one of the study authors, and colleagues wondered if receiving scientific information from ...
