uncanny valley

I, Kosmonaut

A book which I have loved reading as part of the research for Kosmonaut Zero is Two Sides of the Moon, by Alexei Leonov and David Scott. 

One of the reflections common to both men was that their mission profiles gave them no time to themselves, no break in which they could appreciate what it was they were actually doing - being the first man to walk in space and one of the 12 to land on the moon respectively. Leonov took paper and crayons to space so that he could sketch what he saw and recommended that future space missions should include a poet who could record the emotional impact of the experience for all humankind.

Mission Control would constantly ask for status updates and biological data, give them endless tasks to perform so that virtually every minute of each mission was occupied. The act of taking time to experience the wonder of what they were doing was just not part of the schedule.

Here on Earth 40 years on, the space race is forgotten and new technologies take precedence. Web 2.0 platforms proliferate - Twitter, Facebook, YouTube - all based on the premise of 'sharing' - photos and videos, experiences and perspectives.

It's as if we are all now in astronaut mode - document, record, share - giving realtime updates to a faceless global mission control, eviscerating all our activities, no matter how trivial or inane. Privacy is willingly forgotten as we seek to share/express/opine about everything and nothing.

For technology to develop, of course it must be democratic. But which of us are making history like Leonov and Scott - and which of us are merely filling space and time?

Philip K Dick vs Google

One very kind reviewer once likened Robophobia to the work of Philip K Dick. It appears that stories about androids aren't the only connection - PKD's work (along with one of my books and works by thousands of other authors) has fallen foul of Google in their mission to control the world's data / make a profit from content provided by other people. In 2007, i discovered that the Google Books project had posted all of Machine Nation online without anyone bothering to ask my permission - kind of important since I'm the copyright holder - and it was a drawn out process involving copyright lawyers to get them to take the work down..

Now it looks like PKD's estate are taking Google to task over their Android platform and the Nexus 1 version of their smartphone, saying that the use of these product names infringes copyright from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, where the androids were classed as Nexus 6 models. Seems a fairly obvious link really in the cultural consciousness - but then why should Google go to the trouble of thinking up original product titles when they can simply acquire them elsewhere for free... Isa Dick Hackett (PKD's daughter) says of the case - 'Google takes first and then deals with the fallout later.' Given this case, plus StreetView and the Google Books project, I'd say that seems to be their standard operating procedure. Full story here: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6980043.ece Happy new year, btw. Much more to come soon - new novel and all that.

New Story Synchronicities

According to Wired.co.uk, some mad scientist seeks an astronaut to make a one-way trip to Titan. Apparently the ad specifies: “someone unique that has always wanted to see the universe first-hand and has perhaps a terminal view on life here at home." Well, that's one way of putting it. More.

And the lovely False Maria, the robot from the 1927 film Metropolis, is on display in Paris. In case you can't get there, go here instead.

Explanations of the connections between these obscure links soon enough.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mine is just one of 1.6 million names printed on a microchip inside the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that is currently orbiting the moon. Kind of a nice feeling, especially with the Apollo 40 hoo-ha this year. kinda odd that when I filled in the online form at www.nasa.gov over a year ago, I had no idea that I'd be in the middle of writing a novel all about a mission to deep space by the time the craft finally launched.

As described elsewhere on this blog, the new story is set in the late 1960s and what's coming out of all the research on the era is that we used to envision the future in terms of grand projects - orbiting hotels, lunar bases, supersonic travel, capitalist or communist utopias. Perhaps we don't dream anymore... the 21st century reality is a future of small artefacts and intimate details - ever more wondrous handheld gadgets feed us our media and enable us to post the minutiae of our lives on social networks. The future in 140 characters or less, trickle-down celebrity makes everyone a star, rolling news shrinks the world ever smaller...

Space isn't as cool as it was but the LRO thing is important because it's a glimpse of what's outside the thin band of atmosphere that keeps us all alive. NASA are sending a robotic mission, named Curiosity, to Mars in 2011. Click here and your name could go too.

Re-Boot

Back on the radar again. Whilst this blog has been quiet the computer has not - over the last couple of months I've been deep into a new novel which is naturally taking up lots of attention. It's going well - a new direction with new characters and an entirely new timeframe. More will be said about it later this year or early next, so there are deadlines to meet and a world to build. For now all else, including the title, is under wraps. 

The blog will kick back in properly soon. Of course I've been keeping a beady eye on all things robotic, scientific and cultural. Respects have been paid to various moonwalkers (actual and musical) and of course a big 'ohayo gozaimasu' to Mimu.

Thanks for stopping by. More soon.

R

Atomium: The Building That Never Was

Took in Brussels a while back - part of the long process of exploring the landscape of Cold War Europe for the new novel - and sitting to the north of the city like a giant alien craft is the Atomium. Perhaps the continent's most unique building, it is also perhaps one of the most obscure. Owing to a curious copyright situation whereby publication of photographs of the building is apparently prohibited - the Atomium is both a remarkable relic of post-War Europe's futuristic vision and yet relatively unknown as one of the world's most iconic structures.

For more background, visit here.

Girl, Absorbed...

...is a new short story published online and in magazine format by the nice people at Litro. Like all good things, there is a background to the tale. Originally it was called Hand In Glove and was one of three shorts I was asked to write for the 'Fiction Inspired By' series that Serpent's Tail were publishing (six books of short fiction 'inspired by' song titles from various cult bands). Hand In Glove was originally accepted for a compilation called Paint A Vulgar Picture based on song titles by The Smiths. However the first book in the 'Fiction Inspired By' series, Perverted By Language, got a critical mauling (though not my contribution I should add) and a new editor came in to oversee the project who decided that HIG wasn't right for inclusion anymore. Like all good artists faced with a setback, I seethed, I raged, I cursed a world that places the ignorant and the dimwitted into positions of influence. And then I wrote a new ending, gave the story a new title - et voila. You can read the result here.

Happy new year.

Mirror Neurons & The Uncanny Valley

...'I don't know what I'd do without you.'

'Mirror neuronal arrays. Synthesised endocrine system. You can't help but feel that way. Nor can I.'

She frowned at him.

'They made us just for each other,' he shrugged, 'and we're caught in an existential riddle.'

*    *    *

The relationship between Alex and Kim in Exilium is partly explained through their inbuilt 'mirror neuronal arrays'. Kim's experience of empathy also comes to down to this aspect of her neural architecture. The wonderful robots.net website features a link to a paper (PDF format) by Dr. John R. Skoyles, explaining that in humans mirror neurons help 'blur the physical boundaries between ourselves and others'.

It's a fascinating area, with much that is relevant to robotics. Mirror neurons may even explain some elements of the uncanny valley phenomenon, why inexpressive 'mask-like' faces are so off-putting to us. It's not just that robots will need to experience empathy towards us and each other, but that they will need human-like behaviours if we are to feel comfortable in their presence.

Exilium mobile website and launch

The Exilium mobile website is now online - for mobile phones with an internet function. Either use your mobile to scan the smart code pictured here or direct your handset's browser to www.richardevans.mobi. Featured on the mini-site are an extract from the book plus three exclusive micro-stories that tie in with the novel - Blue Cube, Doi Story and Dita Negativa. Each of the micro-stories link in with different parts of the story, kind of literary teasers.

Just a few days now to the launch - 5.30pm, 24th October at The Northern, Tib St, Manchester. I'll be reading from the novel, talking about the research, the world of 2032 and answering questions. Books, posters and bookmarks will be available. Come along if you're in the area.

Uncanny Valley Podcast: Exilium

For your aural pleasure, here is the first Uncanny Valley podcast which features myself in conversation with Maria Ruban of Little Star Media, looking at some of the themes in the new novel. Here it is in both MP3 and MP4 formats. Enjoy.

Download uncanny_valley.m4a

Download Uncanny Valley