Androidvetenskapen och den kusliga dalen: Japanska robotar som forskningsplattformar och filosofiska leksaker

Abstract

The primary aim of this essay is to analyse, contextualise and problematise the scientific and technological goals of android science. The starting point of this investigation is the history of automata and man’s attempts to recreate himself by technological means. Drawing on the no-tion of boundary work this essay also analyses the efforts of the proponents of android science to establish and demarcate a new interdisciplinary field. A secondary aim of the essay is to evaluate the scientific support for the uncanny valley hypothesis and to investigate how this hypothesis contributes to android science. This essay concludes that the boundary work of android science has been largely unsuccessful. There is nothing in the conference papers and scientific articles that have been published within the field of android science that suggests that android science could become a discrete discipline, or a basic science for investigating human beings. “Android science” is best understood as a specific research methodology, within the field of HRI and social robotics. This essay also concludes that the investigation into the uncanny valley phenomenon is the most interesting aspect of android science. However, more research is needed if the uncanny valley is to be accepted as a sound scientific theory.