5 ms·

Is it just me or is the author using the term "Uncanny Valley" completely wrong? Ignoring the silly Pixar story, I still don't understand how voice recognition

by aaronpk 12y ago

Is it just me or is the author using the term "Uncanny Valley" completely wrong? Ignoring the silly Pixar story, I still don't understand how voice recognition (or more accurately, speech recognition) is currently in the uncanny valley. You know when your GPS says "recalculating" in a condescending voice? That's the uncanny valley of text-to-speech.

recursive 12y ago
I'm no valley expert, but it seems to me that uncanny valley refers to an artificial system intended to mimic a natural one. It mostly gets the mimicry right, but not enough that we are completely fooled. This freaks some people out. Siri's UI intends to mimic a person that understands what you are saying. In practice, it gets it wrong in hilarious and frustrating ways, breaking the illusion. So "uncanny valley" seems ok to me.
- brianmcc 12y ago
  Is the term not about getting so close to real that it's that the remaining shortfall makes us uncomfortable? E.g. something "50% real" is so far off, we psychologically dismiss it as a cartoon, drawing, whatever. It's not trying to compete with real. Something "98% real" freaks us out though. Surprised I have not yet seen this link: http://blog.codinghorror.com/avoiding-the-uncanny-valley-of-user-interface/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/avoiding-the-uncanny-valley-of-...
StavrosK 12y ago
"Uuuugh I can't believe you missed the fucking turn, I've been warning you for TWO MINUTES, Jesus! Fine, I'll plot another course for your stupid ass!"
ars 12y ago
> I still don't understand how voice recognition (or more accurately, speech recognition) is currently in the uncanny valley. We are OK with stupid computers, we don't expect anything from them - we order them around is very formal language. But now there is an attempt to use natural language - and it doesn't work right. So it's actually better not to use natural language, and just stick to the formal language. That's where the valley part comes in.
mtVessel 12y ago
Yeah, the application of the term was a total stretch.

by aaronpk 12y ago

recursive 12y ago

I'm no valley expert, but it seems to me that uncanny valley refers to an artificial system intended to mimic a natural one. It mostly gets the mimicry right, but not enough that we are completely fooled. This freaks some people out. Siri's UI intends to mimic a person that understands what you are saying. In practice, it gets it wrong in hilarious and frustrating ways, breaking the illusion. So "uncanny valley" seems ok to me.

brianmcc 12y ago
Is the term not about getting so close to real that it's that the remaining shortfall makes us uncomfortable? E.g. something "50% real" is so far off, we psychologically dismiss it as a cartoon, drawing, whatever. It's not trying to compete with real. Something "98% real" freaks us out though. Surprised I have not yet seen this link: http://blog.codinghorror.com/avoiding-the-uncanny-valley-of-user-interface/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/avoiding-the-uncanny-valley-of-...

StavrosK 12y ago

"Uuuugh I can't believe you missed the fucking turn, I've been warning you for TWO MINUTES, Jesus! Fine, I'll plot another course for your stupid ass!"

ars 12y ago

> I still don't understand how voice recognition (or more accurately, speech recognition) is currently in the uncanny valley. We are OK with stupid computers, we don't expect anything from them - we order them around is very formal language. But now there is an attempt to use natural language - and it doesn't work right. So it's actually better not to use natural language, and just stick to the formal language. That's where the valley part comes in.

mtVessel 12y ago

Yeah, the application of the term was a total stretch.