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The Japanese Roboticist Masahiro Moris Buddhist Inspired Concept of The Uncanny Valley

A peerreviewed electronic journal

published by the Institute for Ethics
and
Emerging Technologies
ISSN 15410099

23(1) December 2013

TheJapaneseRoboticistMasahiroMorisBuddhistInspired
ConceptofTheUncannyValley(BukiminoTaniGensh,
)

W.A.Borody
DepartmentofPoliticalScience,PhilosophyandEconomics
NipissingUniversity,Canada

wayneb@nipissingu.ca

JournalofEvolutionandTechnologyVol.23Issue1December2013pgs3144

ABSTRACT

In1970,theJapaneseroboticistandpracticingBuddhistMasahiroMoriwroteashortessayentitledOnthe
UncannyValleyforthejournalEnergy(Enerugi,7/4,3335).Sincethepublicationofthistwopageessay,
Moris concept of the Uncanny Valley has become part and parcel of the discourse within the fields of
humanoid robotics engineering, the film industry, culture studies, and philosophy, most notably the
philosophyoftranshumanism.Inthispaper,theconceptoftheUncannyValleyisdiscussedintermsofthe
contemporary Japanese cultural milieu relating to humanoid robot technology, and the ongoing
roboticization of human culture. For Masahiro Mori, who is also the author of The Buddha in the Robot
(1981),thesamecompassionthatweoughttooffertoalllivingbeings,andBeingitself,weoughttoofferto
humanoidrobots,whicharealsodimensionsoftheBuddhanatureofCompassion.

Whatisthis,Channa?askedSiddhartha.Whydoesthatmanlietheresostill,allowingthesepeopleto
burnhimup?It'sasifhedoesnotknowanything.

Heisdead,"repliedChanna.

Dead!Channa,doeseveryonedie?

Yes, my dear prince, all living things must die some day. No one can stop death from coming, replied
Channa.

Theprincewassoshockedhedidnotsayanythingmore.

(TheFearandTerrorSutra(BhayabheravaSutta)translatedfromthePalibyThanissaroBhikkhu)

MasahiroMoriandTheCulturalDimensionofJapaneseRobotics

InaNew York Times article published in 1982, entitled Japans Love Affair with the Robot, Henry Scott Stokes
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discussessomestarkcontrastsbetweenthedegreetowhichtheroboticindustrywasdevelopedinJapanintheearly
1980s,asopposedtomostothercountries.StokesfocusesonthedegreetowhichtheJapaneseattitudetowardthe
robotradicallydifferedfromthecommonWesternattitude.Forexample,whilethemodernrobotindustryhadits
start in the United States, Stoke states, there are 140 robot manufacturers in Japan as compared with 20 in the
UnitedStates(Stokes1982,24).Andasfordifferentattitudestowardsrobots,Stokesdescribeshownewindustrial
robots in Japan were more often than not first blessed by Shinto priests, after which the employees burst into
applause,welcomingthenewmemberoftheirteam.1Typically,Stokessays,workersgreettherobotsatthestartof
theworkingdaywithOhayogozaimasu,GoodMorning!

Arecentdocumentary,Japan: Robot Nation (2008) depicts the almost seamless relationship between the Japanese
andtheirrobotculture.JenniferRobertson,aspecialistinJapaneserobotics,discussesthemassivedemographicshift
inanagingpopulationinJapanasaresult,shesays,Japanisembracingtheideaofaformofmulticulturalismthat
factorsinthesocialrobotasanintrinsicaspectofdaytodaylife,includingrobotsthatcanhelpbringupthekids,
teach,takecareoftheelderly,andevengroceryshop(Robertson2010).AccordingtoprofessorOnoGoroofSaitama
University in his popular book Accepting Foreign Workers Spoils Japan (2008), the Japanese would, in general,
preferahumanoidrobotintheirsocialmilieuratherthanahumanforeigner(Japan:RobotNation2008).Professor
GoroandmanyothernationalistsofhisilkarguethatrobotsarebetterforJapanthanimmigrantswhenitcomesto
solving the evolving demographic decline in the population. Japan presently has the highest number of industrial
robotspercapitaintheworldandhasformallyarticulatedtheroboticizationofitscultureasawayofmaintainingits
economic prestige: the governmentsanctioned Innovation 25 Vision Statement of 2007 contains an official plan to
implementpersonalhumanoidrobotsineveryhomeandschoolenvironmentbytheyear2025(GovernmentofJapan
2007).

TherearedifferingexplanationstoaccountfortheuniquenessofthemodernJapaneseacceptanceofrobotsandrobot
culture. Some point to the Japanese tradition of the imaginative culture of human/nonhuman crossovers in anime,
manga and KarakuriNingyo2 puppet culture, others to what they view as the ritualistic, formalistic, i.e., robotic
likeaspectoftraditionalJapaneseculture.StillothersrefertothelegacyofthesocalledEastern/Asian/Oriental
embrace of the Oneness of all things, even when it comes to the dichotomy between virtuality/reality. This
particular embrace of Oneness is then opposed to the socalled Western, JudeoChristian Genesis version of
humans as separate from, but ruling over, the rest of creation. Osamu Tezuka (19281989), who is considered the
centralfigureinthedevelopmentofbothanimeandmangainJapanafterWorldWarII,expressesthissentiment:

UnlikeChristianOccidentals,theJapanesedontmakeadistinctionbetweenman,thesuperiorcreature,and
the world about him. Everything is fused together, and we accept robots easily along with the wide world
about us, the insects, the rocks its all one. We have none of the doubting attitude toward robots, as
pseudohumans, that you find in the West. So here you find no resistance, just simple quiet acceptance.
(Stokes1982,6)

Whilethisexplanationisconvincingonasurfacelevel,itdoesnotmeshwithJapanspre1945useoftechnologyas
an extension of the domination of the sword, as in the bushido ethic of the samurai, as Japans technomilitary
prowess demonstrated pre1945.3 Although the militarists of the period viewed technological mechanization in a
utopianmanner,awidespreadskepticismofsuchmechanizationpervadedJapanesesociety.Forexample,muchpre
War Japanese literature, was concerned with what Miri Nakamura he has termed the Mechanical Uncanny: the
literarymodethatblursthelinebetweenwhatisperceivedasnaturalandwhatisperceivedasartificial(Nakamura
2002,365).ThisMechanicalUncanny,statesNakamura,ledJapaneseintellectualstobringouttheterrorthatcan
be brought about through technological mechanization. According to Nakamura, much prewar Japanese literature
attemptedtodestabilizetheplaceoftechnologyinsociety,inanattempttosubverttheideologiesofthemachine
age:

MachinesandtechnologyinprewarJapan,however,didnotsimplyrepresentsocialprogresstheyalsocame
tobeassociatedwithfearanddegeneration.Inthewordsofonescholar,prewarliteraturedepictingmachines
wasinaconstantfluxbetweenautopiandreamofmachinesontheonehandandapessimisticnightmareof
themontheother.(Nakamura2002,366):4

TheendofWWIImarksamajorshiftinJapanstechnologicaldevelopment:whatcanbedescribedasashiftfrom
thebelligerenttothebenign.JapanspresentpoliticalconstitutionwasimposedbytheAlliesfollowingWorldWarII
and was intended to replace Japans prewar militaristic and absolute monarchy system. Chapter Two, Article 9 of
Japanspresentconstitution(whichcameintoeffectin1947),entitledTheRenunciationofWar,enforcespacifist
socialvalues,andhence,byimplication,pacifisttechnology:

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Aspiringsincerelytoaninternationalpeacebasedonjusticeandorder,theJapanesepeopleforeverrenounce
warasasovereignrightofthenationandthethreatoruseofforceasmeansofsettlinginternationaldisputes.

Toaccomplishtheaimoftheprecedingparagraph,land,sea,andairforces,aswellasotherwarpotential,
willneverbemaintained.Therightofbelligerencyofthestatewillnotberecognized.(ConstitutionofJapan
1947)

IftheAxispowershadbeenvictoriousattheconclusionofWWII,itmighthavebeentheAmericansandSovietswho
would have been forced to develop more peaceful uses for robotic technology. As it happened, in both the Soviet
UnionandtheUnitedStates,post1945,economicallybelligerent,i.e.,militaryreasons,providedadrivingforcein
the interest in robotics and technology. By contrast, Japan, given Article 9 of its constitution, has mainly been
motivated by economically peaceful reasons an impulse to make life less menial while at the same time more
profitable and pleasurable. It is in this context that the Buddhist roboticist Masahiro Mori (born 1927) is such a
significant figure in the Japanese robotics and AI community. Moris pacifist approach to technology and robotics
bestrepresentsthepostwarJapanesethinkingabouttheroleofrobotictechnologyinmodernsociety.5

MasahiroMori:TheUncannyValley

Although Masahiro Mori is most well known outside of Japan for his development of the concept of the Uncanny
Valley,heismoreimportantlyrecognizedinJapanasthefounderoftheJizaiKenkyujo(MuktaInstitute,1970),an
influentialBuddhistbased,Japanesethinktankprovidingcorporationsandresearchcentreswithassistanceregarding
roboticizationandautomation.Inthiscapacity,hehashadadirectinfluenceonthedevelopmentofsomeofthemore
advancedhumanoidrobotstohavebeendevelopedinJapan,suchas,forexample,HondashumanoidrobotAsimo.6
HeistheauthorofTheBuddhaintheRobot:ARobotEngineersThoughtsonScienceandReligion(1974).Heis
alsothefounderofRobocon,aworldwideamateurrobotcontestintendedtoshareandcelebraterobotengineering
technology.FormerlyanengineeringandroboticsprofessorattheTokyoInstituteofTechnology,MasahiroMoriisat
present(2013)theEmeritusPresidentoftheRoboticsSocietyofJapan.

Inhis1970,twopage,koanlikearticleentitledTheUncannyValley,Moriarguesthatthemoresocialrobots(as
opposedtoindustrialrobots)aredesignedtoappear100percenthumanlike,themoretheywillappearlesshuman,
strange,unlikeableandinsomecaseshorrific,resultingfromsometechnologicalglitchineithertheirappearanceor
movement,thuscausingafearfulsenseoftheuncanny,inthewayacorpse,orworseyet,azombiecausesasense
ofuncannystrangenessoremotionalrecoiling.Inapeacefulsociety amoreArticle9society,andforMoriamore
Buddhistbased society robots and robotically enhanced humans ought to be experienced as nonthreatening. In
1970, on the basis of his concept of the Uncanny Valley, Masahiro Mori advised his fellow roboticists to design
humanoidrobotsthatactandperformashumans,butdonotlookandmoveexactlylikethehuman,inorderthatthe
humanoidrobotswillbemoresociallyaccepted.

MoribasedhisideaoftheUncannyValleyonapersonalexperience:asaroboticistwhodevelopedtheengineering
forrobotic/prostheticfingers,hefeltthateventhemosthumanlikeprosthetichandavailablecommerciallyin1970,
which had been developed in Vienna, still left one with a sense of the uncanny and unfamiliar. Despite how
technologically developed this prosthetic hand was, and how humanlike it appeared, shaking such a cold, lifeless
hand,saysMori,leftoneshocked,andhorrifiedtoadegree.Hence,inthecaseofasiliconedhumanlikeprosthetic
hand,Morisuggeststhatawoodenhand,modeledonaversionofthehandoftheBuddhaofCompassion(Mori2012,
100),7butwiththesametechnologicalprecisionoftheViennesehand,mightmorelikelybeacceptedbythehuman,
withasenseoffamiliarityratherthanaversion.ThecoreofBeing,fromaBuddhistperspective,iscompassion.Why
create new forms of being that are intrinsically forms of aversion rather than compassion? This is the Buddhist
subtextofMorisconceptoftheUncannyValley.

Mori begins his paper with a graph based on the mathematical function y = f(x), an abstract formula that explains
simplecauseandeffect:thevalueofydependson(orisaneffectof)thevalueofx.Forexample,steppingonthegas
pedal(x)resultsincausingthecar(y)tomove.Normally,thiscauseeffectrelationshipholdsinourworld.Butnotall
things, Mori observes, fall under the formula y = f(x). Simple cause and effect is not the way the world works.
Althoughinoureveryday,practicalworld,y=f(x)isthewaythingsoftenwork,itisnotalwaysso:

This kind of relation is ubiquitous and easily understood. In fact, because such monotonically increasing
functionscovermostphenomenaofeverydaylife,peoplemayfallundertheillusionthattheyrepresentall
relations. Also attesting to this false impression is the fact that many people struggle through life by
persistentlypushingwithoutunderstandingtheeffectivenessofpullingback.Thatiswhypeopleusuallyare
puzzledwhenfacedwithsomephenomenonthatthisfunctioncannotrepresent.(Mori2012,98)
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Morisownexampleistakenfromthemovementofwalking:inclimbingamountain,therearehillsandvalleys,with
nonecessaryy=f(x)causeandeffectrelationshipforgettingfrompointAtoB.Intheattempttocreate100percent
humanlikeresemblanceinrobotictechnology,wehumansfail.Stuffedanimalsandpuppetsaremoreacceptedbyus
as fellow travellers than such things as prosthetic hands that are created to appear 100 per cent humanlike. Such
humancreationsendupintheUncannyValley,alongsidetheexperienceofhumancorpsesandzombies:

(Mori2012,99)

MoridevelopedhisconceptoftheUncannyValleyafterattendingJapansspaceagethemedExpo70heldinOsaka
in 1970. Expo 70 was held at the height of the Cold War, which was, in a political chessboard of realtime
contestation, played out in the jungleenvironment of the Vietnam War, a brutal display of human ideological
violence that claimed the lives of approximately two million Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians, and 60,000
Americans. In the context of this Cold War mentality, Expo 70 had as its alternative theme the Progress and
HarmonyforMankind,laArticle9oftheJapaneseconstitution.

ThisExpocarriedonthetraditionofthefirstinternationalExpo,theGreatExhibitionoftheWorksofIndustryofall
Nations,heldinLondonin1851.TheultramodernarchitectureofthebuildingsofJapansExpo70rivalledinboth
ingenuityanduniquenessLondonsCrystalPalace.OndisplayinthisExpowerealargemoonrockbroughtbackby
the Apollo 12 astronauts in 1969 the first IMAX film the first spherical concert hall recently developed mobile
phonesbasedonlocalareanetworkingthemostadvancedmagneticlevitationtraintechnologyandawidevarietyof
prosthetic devices and humanoid robots. In the aftereffects of this exuberantly utopian celebration of the infinite
moralandtechnologicalperfectibilityofthehumanbeing,MasahiroMoritossedinamonkeywrenchwithhistwo
pagepublicationofTheUncannyValley.InoneoffhandedcommentMoristatesthatcreatinganartificialhuman
isitselfoneoftheobjectivesofrobotics(Mori2012,98)(suchastatementwouldhorrifythelikesofaHeidegger,
Fukuyama or Margaret Atwood). However, his concept of the Uncanny Valley was a symbolic counterthought to
someofthemoreutopianidealsofExpo70.Itquestioned,howeverobliquely,theconceptoftheutopiandesireto
remanufacturethepresenthuman,adinfinitum,butwithbettertechnology.

WhiletheconceptoftheUncannyValleyhassinceplayedasignificantroleintheJapaneseroboticsindustrydevoted
to the development of social robots, it has recently garnered more interest in the film industry, especially the
American film industry. CGI technology has allowed for more of a crossover between animation and realism.
However,ifananimatedcharacterappearstooalmostreal,suchasTomHanksinthemoviePolarExpress(2004),
theaudiencerecoils.Animationisnotyetatthepointthatitcanreplicaterealisticallyavirtualizedhuman.Hence,
becauseitfellintowhatMoriwoulddescribeastheUncannyValley,PolarExpresswasaboxofficeflop,whilethe
movieAvatar(2009),whichdidnotdependoncompleteanimatedhumanlikeness,wasasuccess(althoughitwasa
poor movie for other reasons relating to its maudlin plot). It is also clear that the face or avatar of the IBM
supercomputerWatsonwasdevelopedwithaconceptoftheUncannyValleyinmind,whenitfirstappearedinthe
quizshowJeopardy!inFebruaryof2010,inahumanversusmachinecontest(Watsoncameinfirstplace).

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AsWatsonhadtoappearbesidetwohumans,itsappearanceandmovementwereofcriticalimportanceforits
designers.DavidFerrucci,WatsonPrincipalInvestigatorofIBMResearch,describestheapproachthatwastakenin
thisprojecttopresentafaceoravatarforWatson,whichissimplyaclusterofninetyIBMPower750servers:

Lotsofthinkingwentintothis.Shoulditbehumanoid,shoulditbeabstract?Intheend,whatreallymadea
lotofsensewastobereallyclearthatthisisanIBMcreationandwhatbetterthanthesmarterplanetlogo
forcommunicatingthat?(Davis2011)8

The smarter planet logo (Moris still) was coupled with fortytwo coloured threads crisscrossing the globe
(Morismovement).AlthoughWatsonsengineersgendereditasmale(givenitsmalenameandvoice),theydid
notattempttoentertheUncannyValleybyassociatinganexacthumanlikefaceoravatartoit.Interestingly,thisidea
appearstodominatemorerecentdevelopmentsinprosthetics,asisevidencedbyDARPAsrecentmindcontrolled,
bionicarmandhand,whichcanbeusedeitherwithasiliconcovering,orwithoutone(UltraTechTalk,2012),and
AimeeMullinsdemonstrationofhertwelvedifferenttypesofprostheticlegs,someofwhichlookhumanlike,and
somewhichdonot(Mullins,2009).InarecentstudycarriedoutatPrincetonUniversity,evenmonkeysappearto
havethesenseofanUncannyValleywhenconfrontedwithimagesofmonkeysfacesthatappearalmostcloseto
real.Insteadofcooingandsmackingtheirlipswhenviewingexactrepresentationsofothermonkeys,themonkeys
almost immediately avert their glances and act frightened when confronted by the almost closetoreal images
(MacPherson2009).

Ontheotherhand,whilethereareroboticistswhohaveheededMorisadvice,andcreatedhumanlike,socialrobots
thatappearmoreanimelike,othershaveattemptedtocreatesocialrobotsthatareintendedtoreplicateanexact,100
percenthumanlikeness,andtherearesomewhoarguethat,whenitcomestoRoboticsandArtificialIntelligence,the
senseofthesocalledUncannyValleysoonfades,asitwouldfade,forexample,withmoreexposuretoaprosthetic
hand, such as the Viennese hand. In fact, within minutes, some roboticists claim, even if a very humanlike robot
appearsuncanny,thesenseoftheuncannydissolvesquickly(Sofge2010,2):

DavidHanson,aroboticistwhosecompany,HansonRobotics,specializesinultrarealisticroboticheads ,
activelyseeksouttheuncanny.Hekeepsthemotorsinhisrubberskinnedfacesnoisyandovertlyrobotic,
andsometimespresentstheselifeliketalkingheadsmountedonastick.Andforbetterorworse,eventhe
shock value of Hansons buzzing, decapitated heads doesnt stick around for long. In my experience,
peoplegetusedtotherobotsveryquickly,Hansonsays.Asin,withinminutes.(Guizzo2010,1)

A2009empiricalstudyofMorisconceptoftheUncannyValleyconcludesbyclaimingthat,contraMori,humanlike
androidsthatwereslightlydistinguishablefromhumanswerenotlikedlessthanhumans(Bartnecketal.2009).For
theseresearchers,thefutureofhighlyrealisticandroidsbodeswell,andtherefore,theyargue,theUncannyValley
hypothesisnolongeroughttobeusedtoholdbackthedevelopmentofsuchhumanoidrobots.

PreMoriEuropeanacademicstudiesoftheuncannybeganintheearlytwentiethcentury,althoughtheyhaveonlya
slight resemblance to Moris concept of the uncanny. Ernst Jentschs 1906 essay On the Psychology of the
Uncannyviewedthehumansenseoftheuncannyinanevolutionarycontext:fearoftheunknown,arguesJentsch,
lies at the core of the consciousness of all living beings, and their very existence. On this account, fear of the
unknown is hardwired into consciousness itself humans experience this particular fear as the Uncanny, or
Unfamiliar(Unheimliche).Whilemuchofwhatisconsidereduncannyforthemodernhumaniseitheraresultof
primitive baggage, various forms of intoxication, or mental derangement, claims Jentsch, a fearful sense of the
uncanny/unknown still lies at the epicenter of modern human consciousness which is why modern humans so
aggressivelycultivatethepracticeofscience(Jentsch1996,16).

Freuds 1919 essay on the Uncanny is written as a response to Jentsch. Although Freud agrees with Jentsch
concerningtheinnatehumanfearoftheunknown/uncanny,heoffersapsychoanalyticinterpretationofthisparticular
fear, claiming it to be the primitive fear of castration, Kastration Angst (Freud 2003, 139). Neither Jentschs nor
FreudsviewoftheUncannyappearstohaveinfluencedMorisconceptoftheUncannyValley.Ontheotherhand,in
aninterestingmanner,bothJentschandFreuddiscusstheuncannyintermsoftheAutomatrobotcharacterOlimpia
whoappearsinE.T.A.HoffmannsnovelTheSandman.NeitherJentsch(1906)norFreud(1919)consideredthekind
ofrealtimeroboticuncanninessthatMoriwasconfrontedwithin1970.

As for a more specific Western influence on Moris conception of the Uncanny Valley, Norbert Wieners 1948
Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, entranced Mori when it was first
translatedintoJapanesein1961.TheAnimalintheMachinethatWienerpredictedsharedMorispacifistviewof
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thefieldofrobotics(andMorislaterconceptionoftheBuddhaintheRobot).AlthoughWienerhaddevelopedhis
concept of cybernetics during his war efforts during WWII (in designing the automatic aiming and firing of anti
aircraft guns), he became a staunch pacifist after the war, campaigning against the militarization of science. His
pacificismisalreadyevidentinCybernetics,whichwaswrittenshortlyafterthewar:

Wehavecontributedtotheinitiationofanewscience[cybernetics]which,asIhavesaid,embracestechnical
developments with great possibilities for good and for evil. We can only hand it over into the world that
existsaboutus,andthisistheworldofBelsenandHiroshima.Wedonotevenhavethechoiceofsuppressing
thesenewdevelopments.Theybelongtotheage,andthemostanyofuscandobysuppressionistoputthe
developmentofthesubjectintothehandsofthemostirresponsibleandthemostvenalofourengineers.The
bestwecandoistoseethatalargepublicunderstandsthetrendandthebearingofthepresentwork,andto
confineourpersonaleffortstothosefields,suchasphysiologyandpsychology,mostremotefromwarand
exploitation.(Wiener1948,3839)

When Mori the roboticist first conceived of the Uncanny Valley, he was an avid practicing Buddhist. From a
Buddhistpointofview,tobefullyhumanrequiresaradicalrethinkingofwhatitmeanstobeahumaninthefirst
place.Thegiven,apriori,humanisabeingstraddledwithanunfulfillabledesire,t:theclutchingdesireforthe
permanencyofanegobasedformofselfidentity.Thepraxisandethicsoflettinggoofthisdesiremakewayfora
differentsortofhuman,atranshumanofsorts,aBuddhist.Hence,fromaBuddhistroboticsperspective,whytry
toreplicatethepresenthumaninthefirstplace,thesamehumanthatoneoughttoovercome?InMorisessay,The
Uncanny Valley, the technologically created Viennese robotic prosthetic hand appears as a metaphor for our
recoilingfromwhatoughttobeconsideredunfamiliarandstrangefromaBuddhistperspective:i.e.,humannature
circumscribedandconstitutedbyt.IfcompassionconstitutestheessentialnatureofBeing,andhencethehuman
being, it follows that humanoid robots ought to reflect this not uncanny or unfamiliar, but of the essence of
Buddhahood:compassion.Hence,itcomesasnosurprisethatMoriconcludeshisessaywithareferencetoaBuddha
ofCompassionswoodenhand,suggestingthatthishandmaybelessuncannyandunfamiliartohumanbeingsthana
realisticprosthetic.FromaBuddhistperspective,theworldofthehumanisfakeenough:thereisnoneedtomakeit
morefake.

TheBuddhaintheRobot

Manwillneverreachthemoonregardlessofallfuturescientificadvances.
Dr.LeeDeForest,inventoroftheAudiontubeandafatherofradio,25Febuary,1967.

In his book, The Buddha in the Robot, written some four years after The Uncanny Valley, Mori does not once
mention the concept of the Uncanny Valley, although the Buddhist subtext of his essay permeates the book. The
healthypersonisnolongerconsideredtobeattheapexofthefamiliarorthelikeable:thatapexisattainedwiththe
enlightened insight of Buddhist praj (Enlightenment). The world itself is afflicted by ignorance, claims Mori,
whichisseeninBuddhistphilosophyasthefundamentalcauseofallevil(Mori1981,8).Inthe1981prefacetothe
EnglishtranslationoftheBuddhaintheRobot,MoriarticulatesanoverlyexuberantandnaveviewofBuddhismas
the truest, the most perfect, the most universal, and the most magnanimous of religions (Mori 1981, 9). Taoism,
ConfucianismandShintoismaresurprisinglynotmentionedinthisbook,althoughifoneweretocomprehensively
treattheissueofrobotsandAIin1981inJapan,intermsoftraditionalJapaneseculture,onewouldnodoubthave
totreatthecontributionsofthesethreeotherJapanesetraditions.

Clearly,asbothaPureLandandZenBuddhist,MorishowsaperspectivethatischaracteristicofmodernJapanese
Buddhism,whichemergedoutofitspersecutionduringtheMeijiEra((Meijijidai, 18681912). During
thisperiod,Buddhismwascensuredasacorrupt,decadent,antisocial,parasitic,andsuperstitiouscreed,inimicalto
Japansneedforscientificandtechnologicaldevelopment(Sharf1995,110).However,insteadofconcedingdefeat,
JapaneseBuddhistleadersdevelopedwhatcametobeknownasNewBuddhism(shinbukky),whichwasconsidered
trueorpureBuddhism,andwhichwasfoundtobeuncompromisinglyempiricalandrational,andinfullaccord
withthefindingsofmodernscience(Sharf1995,110).AlthoughMorihimselfdoesnotselfidentifyhisBuddhist
persuasionwithNewBuddhism,orwithanyparticularsectofJapaneseBuddhism,intheBuddhaintheRobot,the
membershipofhisMuktaInstituteheldbothPureLandandZenBuddhistviews(Schodt1998,207).Althoughinno
waypossessingthephilosophicalacumenofthenotableJapaneseBuddhistphilosopherNishidaKitar(18701945),
Mori, as a roboticist, not a philosopher, expressed insights with which Kitar would no doubt have agreed. They
wouldhaveagreedthatBuddhismsbasicprincipleorinsightisthatallthingsinthecosmosaremanifestationsofthe
primordial Buddhanature of Enlightenment, Compassion, and Nothingness/Emptiness. Hence, Mori, without
hesitation,claimsinthisbookthatrobotshavethebuddhanaturewithinthem thatis,thepotentialforattaining
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buddhahood (Mori 1981, 13). The Buddha in the Robot also contains the messianism of Pure Land (Amitba
Buddha/Sukhvat)Buddhism,as,forexample,whenMoristatesthathisrobotscallisloudandclear:Themore
mechanizedourcivilizationbecomes,themoreimportanttheBuddhasteachingwillbetousall(Mori1981,57).

In the late 1980s, Frederik L. Schodt had the opportunity to attend a meeting of Moris Mukta Institute. Schodt
describesatypicalmeetingofthisgroup:

Aspartofthisprocess,MuktamembersregularlymeettoreciteBuddhistscriptures,meditate,andattemptto
considerproblemsinnewways.Onthewalloftheroominwhichthemeetingsareheld,alongwithBuddhist
calligraphy,isanelaborateclockwithnohandsthattellsnotimeinthecenterisayinyangshapedtablethat
canbesplitinhalfandreconfiguredinamyriadofwaystoencouragedifferentmethodsofcommunication.
Herethemembersimaginenewrobots,cars,andmethodsofautomation,and,as[member]Matsubarasays
withachuckle,occasionallysipsomesake.(Schodt1998,210)

TheBuddha in the Robot contains a graph, not of the Uncanny Valley, but what could be described as the T
Valley the valley of desire. For Mori, the implications of mass social roboticization are not the modern humans
most pressing issue. This is human suffering, which is ultimately caused by desire: the cause of all suffering is
rooted in desire. Mori describes the Buddhist understanding of the process of desire with the analogy of a bomb
(whichresonateswiththepacifisticdeclarationofArticle9):oneburningdesireignitesotherdesiresaroundit,and
thefirespreadsasinthebomb.Themorewefeeddesire,themoreitgrows,untilitbecomesanexplosiveformof
insatiability(Mori,1981,55).Inthegraphthatfollows,Moriplotsthepointatwhichthemodernhumanbeingexists
on a scale of desire. A natural balance exists innature, he argues: there exists in nature a desire that knows
satisfactionadesirethatdoesnotgobeyondcertainlimits.Thismoderateddesireistheprinciplethatunderliesthe
harmoniousworkingsofnature(Mori1981,56).Thesolidlineinthegraphrepresentstheseharmoniousworkings
ofnature,asabalancebetweenourdesiresandtheirappropriatesatisfaction(supply)(Mori1981,56):

Inordertofunctionproperlyalongsiderobots,andtowelcomehumanoidrobotsinoursocialworld,arguesMori,we
must first learn how to control our own desires, our own tfor ultraexistential egopermanency: we must first
learn how to understand and embrace both compassion (karua) and nothingness (nyat). In his Loving the
Machine: the Art and Science of Japanese Robots (2006), Timothy Hornyak responds to the question as to why
humanoid robots are apparently so loved in Japan: simply because they are simultaneously science and fiction
(Hornyak 2006, 157). Mori would no doubt agree, but for Mori, the Buddhist roboticist, this love results from an
insight that humanoid robots are also part and parcel of the oneness of all things, of Buddhanature of
Enlightenment,CompassionandNothingness/Emptiness.

Theconferencecomments

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In2005,thirtyfiveyearsafterMorifirstproposedtheconceptoftheUncannyValley,hewasinvitedtoaconference,
ViewsoftheUncannyValley:AHumanoids2005Workshop,heldinTsukuba,Japan,whichaddressedtheconceptin
terms of psychology, sociology, philosophy, neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence. He sent a letter to Karl
MacDorman, the director of the Android Center at Indiana University, and the one person who has carried out
extensive empirical studies on the idea of the Uncanny Valley Mori declined the invitation, due to prior
commitments. In this letter, which has been posted on the net, he states that while I introduced the notion of the
Uncanny Valley, I have not examined it closely too[sic] far (Mori 2005, 1). Nevertheless, he included two short
personal observations regarding the concept of the Uncanny Valley, both of which are critical of its original
formulation:heiscriticalofhisformulationofboththelowpoint(acorpse)inthecurveoftheUncannyValley,and
thehighpoint(thehealthyperson).

Inhis1970article,theUncannyValleyisplacedbetweentheexperienceofacorpseandazombie.By2005,Mori
haschangedhisattitudetowardthecorpse.Thecorpseisnolongeranobjecttobeconsidereduncanny.Itisnow
something about which to rejoice: it no longer has to suffer, which is the fate of all living beings. The essence of
humanexistence,hestatesinhisfirstobservation,isthefactthathumanssuffer,andarethereforetroubled,which
oftenshowsontheirfaces.Here,MoriusesaBuddhisttargumenttoexplainwhyahumancorpseshouldnotbe
viewed as something uncanny, but as something more real than the living form of human lifeconsciousness. He
crypticallygivesareasonforhumansuffering,i.e.,theveryactofdecisionmaking:ifyoutakeonething,youwill
lose the other (Mori 2005,1). Whenever one makes a decision about ones life, in this way or that, one always
wonderswhetherornotthedecisionmadewastherightone.Itisasif,witheverylittledecision,oneencountersa
deathofsortsinthechoicethatwasnotmade.Inlife,onecannothaveonescakeandeatittoo:thisistherealityof
desire.Bycontrast,thecorpseisfreeofsuchdesire.BasedonaclearerunderstandingofhisBuddhistprinciplesof
oneness and compassion, Mori no longer appears, in his 2005 observation, to be struck by the significance of the
experienceoftheuncanny.Bywayofcomparison,Freud,whenhewasinhissixties,alsohadapersonalobservation
abouttheuncannyinhisessayonTheUncanny.Heobservedthattheolderhehadbecome,thelessasenseofthe
uncannyoperatedasanexperientialaspectinhislife(Freud2003,124).

In his second reflection in the 2005 letter to Karl MacDorman, Mori addresses the high point of the curve, the
healthy person. Upon reflection, he states, Buddhist statues that bring out the compassionate and healing nature of
enlightenedconsciousnessoughttobeheldastheidealofhumanexistence,notthehealthyhumanperse.Hestates
thatthefacesoftherepresentationsofthecompassionatenatureoftheBuddhaarefullofelegance,beyondworries
of life, and have an aura of dignity (Mori, 2005, 1). Such artistic representations, he claims, should replace the
highestvalueofthehealthyhumaninhis1970graph.

From these two reflections in 2005, it is clear that Mori is rearticulating his view of both humanoid robots and
artificial intelligence that he articulated in The Buddha in the Robot that all is one and infused with buddha
nature.In2011,attheageof84,MoriacknowledgedtheexistenceoftheUncannyValley,butsimplyasadesign
glitchinthefieldofhumanoidrobotics:Toacertaindegree,wefeelempathyandattractiontoahumanlikeobject
butonetinydesignchange,andsuddenlywearefulloffearandrevulsion(Kawaguchi2011,1).This,hesays,is
what he has described as the uncanny valley. Yet, he still articulates the view of humanoid robots and artificial
intelligencefoundinTheBuddhaintheRobot,concerningtheonenessofallthings:

IcallthatitsBuddhanaturerobots,plants,stones,humans,theyreallthesameinthatsense,andsince
theyallhaveaspirit,wecancommunicatewiththem.Forexample,whenadoorhingemakesasound,its
cryingPleaseoilme!Iconversewithchopsticks:Thankyou!forlettingmeusethem,Isay.Theyreply,
Noproblem!Thislooksdelicious!Enjoy!(Kawaguchi2011,1)

Conclusion:MasahiroMorisBuddhistbasedtranshumanismhumantransformationorhuman
transmogrification?

Basedontheprecedingdiscussion,onemightconcludethat,accordingtoMorisroboticengineeringbasedBuddhist
philosophicalperspective,theUncannyValleyissimilartotheBuddhistconceptofimpermanencecoupledwithits
concomitant quality, suffering (dukha). Like the Buddhist concept of suffering, the Uncanny Valley can be
metamorphosed into something transformative. Likewise, Gautama Buddhas experience of sick, elderly and dead
humans originally engendered a sense of horrific uncanniness in the young princeling, but upon his becoming
Enlightened, he viewed such uncanniness as part and parcel of the fabric of this world, the fabric of
impermanence/nothingness,whichheapproachedwithcompassion.

WhileitappearstobethecasethatallthingsareOne,italsoappearsthatallthingsarenotOne,asbothHeraclitus
andLaoTzuwouldcommiserate.HumanbeingsappeartoliveinthedichotomyofbeingOnewithallthatexists,
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while also existing as significantly separate from this Oneness. Mori clearly obfuscates this dichotomy, which is a
seriousphilosophicalflawinhisthinkingwhenitcomestotheexistenceofhumanoidlikeAIandrobots,giventhe
significance and dignity of selfidentity qua individuality. As well, as a selfproclaimed practicing Buddhist, Mori
appears predisposed to embracing humanoidlike robots and AI on the basis of his predilection for the animelike
figureoftheBuddhaasheexistsasaphantasmagoricalconstructinBuddhisthagiography(suchasintheMah
ParinibbnaSutta) and in Buddhist iconography. Moris openness towards the idea that humans ought to give up
theirhumanityashumanstotheonenessofallthingsintheguiseofrobotsandAIexhibitsthesamenaivetthat
hedisplaysinhisbookTheRobotintheBuddhaconcerningthevirtuesofBuddhismasthetruest,themostperfect,
themostuniversal,andthemostmagnanimousofreligions.

MasahiroMoricanbedescribedasaBuddhisttranshumanist,andasanadvocateoftranshumanism.Hence,hefalls
within the fuzzy crosshairs of the Westernist historianofideas Francis Fukuyama, who has characterized the
philosophyoftranshumanismastheworldsmostdangerousidea one thataimstodefacehumanity(Fukayama
2004, 43). Whether the Buddhistbased transhumanism advocated by Masahiro Mori prefigures a utopian human
transformation,adystopianhumantransmogrification orboth,orneither onlytimewilltell.Butthen,timeitself
isarelativeconcept,asistheconceptofnothingness.

Notes

ThisarticlehasbeentranslatedintoChinesebyShaoMingandwasfirstpublishedin2012intheJournalof
YibinUniversity12(8)(August):17.Availableat:http://goo.gl/rbazjX.(accessedDec.10,2013)

1.TheShintoconsecrationofrobotsfadedoutinthelate1980s,asanofficialatKawasakiexplained:Wehavetoo
manytonamenow(Geraci2006,8).

2.ThewordKarakurireferstoamechanicaldevicetotease,trick,ortakeapersonbysurprise.Itimplieshidden
magic,oranelementofmystery.InJapanese,Ningyoiswrittenastwoseparatecharacters,meaningpersonand
shape.Itlooselytranslatesaspuppet,butcanalsobeseeninthecontextofadolloreveneffigy(Law1997,18).

3.Interestingly,inlightofMorisconceptoftheUncannyValley,WWIIwasprecipitatedbytheGreatDepressionof
the1920s,whichisreferredtoinJapanastheeraoftheDarkValley(kuraitanima,).

4.Inthiscontext,itshouldbenotedthatFritzLangsMetropoliswasreleasedinJapanin1929,andKarelapeks
R.U.R.wastranslatedintoJapaneseinthe1930s.

5.MoristechnoutopianistdoppelgangerintheWestcouldbeviewedastheroboticist/technophileRayKurzweil,
manyofwhosesignificanttechnologicalactivities(e.g.,voicerecognitionsoftware)havebeenconductedunderthe
aegis of DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the scientific wing of the American military
high command. Geraci views the majority of contemporary Japanese roboticists as just as misled as their utopian
American counterparts, since both groups are heedless of the potentially disastrous effects of robotic technology
because of their heady eschatological and soteriological cultural baggage (whether it be a mix of Shintoism
ConfucianismBuddhismoraformofJudeoChristianity):eventhoughtheymaybeagnosticorevenatheistic,[pie
inthesky]religionmaintainssomepowerovertheirwork(Geraci2006,11).

6.IbelongtotheAtomgeneration,declaredAsimosprimemover,ToruTakenaka,thechiefengineeratHonda
R&DCo.Ltd.WhenIwasachild,IlovedAtom[Boy]andTetsujin28[anothercartoonrobot],andIusedtobe
immersedintherobotworld(Hara2001,1).AsagraduateoftheMuktaInstitute,SoichiroHonda,thefounderof
HondaMotors,hasdevelopedhiscompanyalongMuktaInstituteprinciples(Schodt1998,209).

7. Mori does not describe the wooden hand as typical of a representation of Avalokitevara, the Boddhisattva of
Compassion, who also exists in the form of Padmapni, the One with a Lotus in His/Her (ardhanrvararpa)
Hand,alwaysthelefthand.Therighthandisoftenloweredinacompassionategestureofgivingablessing(avarada
hastaasavaradamudr).ThewoodenhandsculptedalongBuddhistprinciplesappearingintheoriginalJapanese
versionofthearticleisjustsuchahand:

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8.JoshuaDaviswasthedigitalartistwhocreatedthenonUncannyValleyWatsonavatar:

See:http://goo.gl/bSJHiG
(accessedSeptember13,2013).

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