Extracurricular Education Program "How can an inorganic robot fit in with human society? Approaching Problem Solving from Psychology! ～Let's learn from the perspective of the uncanny valley phenomenon" (2/19)

On Monday, February 19, 2024, Hosei University's Extracurricular Education Program "How can an inorganic robot fit into human society? Approaching Problem Solving from Psychology! ～Let's learn from the perspective of the uncanny valley phenomenon.

This program was held with the aim of informing people about the "uncanny valley phenomenon," which is one of the most common phenomena in our daily lives, and which is an ideal theme for today's world where robots are expected to coexist with people in the future.

The program flow began with an introduction to psychology, followed by psychological experiments and group work on the uncanny valley phenomenon, then current applications of the uncanny valley phenomenon, and finally a Q&A session.

In the lecture, explanations were given in a way that was easy to understand even for beginners in psychology. The psychological experiment of the uncanny valley phenomenon was conducted at the stage of gaining this knowledge, so the discussion in the group work progressed well. In addition, the lecture was given in a way that made it interesting through discussion of changes in spookiness due to labeling and the clone depreciation effect in future developments.

In the psychological experiment, students evaluated the eeriness of each image and the ease of categorization. Through this experiment, participating students were able to realize the correlation between eeriness and categorization ease.

In the group work, each group discussed the purpose of the psychological experiment and their findings. There were a total of five groups that offered a variety of opinions, all of which had the correct axis of thinking, and several of which offered interesting opinions, allowing for a deeper exploration of the uncanny valley phenomenon.

Some of the participating students commented, "It was good to experience firsthand what causes the eerie feeling. I didn't know about the uncanny valley phenomenon, but through the lecture, I understood it and found it interesting. and "I was surprised that there is a relationship between the eeriness of the uncanny valley phenomenon and likes/dislikes of food. I was surprised at the connection between the eeriness of the uncanny valley phenomenon and likes/dislikes of food.

We hope that the knowledge of the uncanny valley phenomenon gained from this program will be applied to the students' fields of specialization and will help them broaden their perspectives on other phenomena that exist around them.

Yuri Ichikawa, 1st year student, Department of Frontier Bioscience and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Bioscience and Applied Chemistry