Semiotica dell'Uncanny Valley

The Uncanny Valley, hypothesized by Masahiro Mori in 1970, theorizes about a sensation of discomfort evoked in humans on exposure to anthropomorphic artificial bodies that preserve some mechanical features. The aims of this paper are multiple. Firstly, to confirm the truth of this hypothesis, which has often been the subject of controversy but which has been amply demonstrated in experimental settings and anecdotic evidence. Secondly, to focus the study of the Uncanny Valley on the face, considered as central in the manifestation of the phenomenon. Thirdly, to provide a description of this occurrence as not exclusively a neuroscientific or psychological matter, but also as an issue of extreme semiotic relevance, through the meta-analysis of recent experiments and the treatment of some cinematographic cases known to have generated the Uncanny Valley experience in the audience.