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Lying Eyes: Cyborg Glasses Simulate Eye Expressions

Posted by samzenpus on from the all-the-better-to-see-you-with dept.

Rambo Tribble (1273454) writes "A researcher in Japan has taken what is, perhaps, the next step after Google Glass: Glasses which produce animated images of the user's eyes to simulate emotional responses. They are intended to aid workers in emotionally-intensive environments. As the researcher explains, '... they allowed others to feel they were "cared" about ...'"

36 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. authenticity by kruach+aum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would anyone interpret simulated expressions as genuine other than to delude themselves? And if you're willing to delude yourself, you could also just interpret apathy as caring. I don't understand how this is supposed to work.

    1. Re:authenticity by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      Why would anyone interpret simulated expressions as genuine other than to delude themselves? And if you're willing to delude yourself, you could also just interpret apathy as caring. I don't understand how this is supposed to work.

      Maybe the same reason that it's easier to suspend disbelief when staring at a TV show instead of a blank wall?

      Because you could just imagine the action and adventure without any visual aid, but it's easier with one.

    2. Re:authenticity by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 2

      I really don't know. Maybe some sex line operator can inform you? Given their abundance, I think enough people like to be fooled.

      What is more scary is that this can be used on people who just don't know any better and react to instincts. In other words: babies. Would a baby accept a robot nanny as its mum in the future?

      --
      Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    3. Re:authenticity by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      But my imagination never suffers from bad actors, dumb dialogue or terrible cgi. The point of movies, tv shows and especially books is not that they make it easier to imagine, but that they can show you things you wouldn't have thought of by yourself, which is not applicable in the emo-glasses situation.

    4. Re:authenticity by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

      Surely I'm not the only one who finds this ... well... a bit creepy?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    5. Re:authenticity by Schiphol · · Score: 1

      Probably because, as a matter of empirical psychological fact, you would find the latter impossible and the former irresistible.

    6. Re:authenticity by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Ever looked at a cartoon, or illustrated character? It's human instinct. We can interpret emotion in just two dots an a line :) Illustrated characters can easily express hyper-emotional levels far beyond what a real face could manage, an ability often utilised for dramatic or comedic effect. It wouldn't be a matter of willingness to delude onesself - even if you know the emotion is fake, it would take a deliberate effort not to be deluded subconsciously.

    7. Re:authenticity by binarylarry · · Score: 4, Funny

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    8. Re:authenticity by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      Well there is research showing that it is hard to be analytic and empathetic at the same time. That is why a lot of Doctors who are treating difficult cases, seem very detached from the patients, it isn't because they are just a nasty person. But because they are trying to solve your problem, and that gets in the way of being empathetic.
      The same thing with tech people, it IS NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE AUTISM or some other issue, but because we are thinking analytically pushing aside our empathy.

      Even if we know this, we really don't like it. So while your MD is treating your case, and somehow he seems to be making eye contact to you and seems like he actually gives a shit about your condition and not just enjoying the complexity of the case. You feel better emotionally, he feel better as you are not getting pissy with him, while he is trying to think on how to do his job and make you physically better.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    9. Re:authenticity by ljw1004 · · Score: 1

      If I understand, your question is basically, "why is the human brain's amygdala hard-wired to produce emotional responses in this way?"

      There's no really good answer, other than "it just is" and maybe some handwaving about evolutionary psychology.

    10. Re:authenticity by ggraham412 · · Score: 1

      Maybe this has greater applicability in robotics? It's probably cheaper to outfit a robot with a pair of these glasses that try to mimic the complex expressions of eye movements with tiny motors.

    11. Re:authenticity by hey! · · Score: 1

      What about acting? Or fiction? These are artificial experiences that evoke real emotional responses. Once the right buttons in your brain are pushed, most of your brain can't tell the difference between what is real and what is synthetic.

      Granted, authenticity in human interactions is important, but it's overrated. Fake engagement often is a perfectly acceptable substitute. Situations where people put considerable effort into *seeming* pleasant usually *are* more pleasant than they would be if everyone felt free to paste their indifference to you right on their faces.

      So this is a very interesting technology. What's disturbing about it isn't that people might be fooled into thinking the user is truly interested; it's that the user himself no longer puts any effort into creating that illusion. What if that effort is in itself something important? What if fake engagement is often the prelude to real engagement? Maybe you have to start with polite interest and work your way up to the real thing; I suspect the dumber parts of your brain can't tell the difference. If that's true, taking the user's brain out of the interaction means that interaction will automatically be trapped on a superficial level. This already happens in bureaucratic situations where employees are reduce to rules-following automatons. Take the brain out of the equation and indifference follows.

      I suspect that the researchers are well aware of these issues; I believe that I discern a certain deadpan, ironic puckishness on their part. People who truly view engagement with other people as an unwelcome burden don't work on technologies that mediate between people.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    12. Re:authenticity by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      You have to understand Japanese society. It's complicated but basically people in service industries ate expected to have a "service attitude" all the time. It's hard for them to maintain that, so assuming this could be developed to the point where it were not uncanny there might be uses for it. Look at it this way, everyone knows that the "service attitude" isn't the person's real feeling anyway, so this isn't any more fake.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    13. Re:authenticity by ZeroPly · · Score: 1

      I don't know... I've been around a few people who are holding on to that last rung by their fingernails, and you'd be surprised at how little it takes for them to think that someone cares...

      --
      Support microSD: in a post 9/11 world, it is unwise to carry your data on media that you cannot comfortably swallow.
    14. Re:authenticity by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      But my imagination never suffers from bad actors, dumb dialogue or terrible cgi.

      Wow, really?

  2. why stop there? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

    Just simulate the whole face ... we won't even have to show up!

    1. Re:why stop there? by hodet · · Score: 1

      "Hey man, I have bad news. I have cancer."

      Friend: rolls eyes.

  3. Uncanny valley. by drolli · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wow they just managed to create uncanny deep holes to fall into.

  4. But what ... is it good for? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Either the person looking at me cares about how I feel. Then he will be pissed that I try to delude him.

    Or he doesn't give a shit how I feel. Then it does not matter what I look like.

    And now tell me again why I'd want to spend money on that.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Get a dog by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dogs always give you the feeling that they care about you. The wagging tail, the dumb look in the face, the tongue hanging down to the ground . . .

    Forget cats, though. You could sink in quicksand if front of a cat, and it will barely give you a glance the entire time.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  6. The eyes... by puddingebola · · Score: 2

    The eyes are the window to the soul. Perhaps in a job that requires that people show empathy and understanding at all times this is too demanding, but what does it mean when we make an electronic device to simulate emotions we aren't feeling. I am skeptical that people want to use something like this, but I could be wrong. I guess in the 80's we had mirror shades to hide a person's eyes, and other people looking at them could see themselves. Maybe this is just an extension of the technology of emotional distance.

    1. Re:The eyes... by sunsurfandsand · · Score: 1

      I'm getting these for my girlfriend...the one I'm building in the garage.

  7. so...emoticons? by globaljustin · · Score: 1

    This is not "innovation" or a new "tech frontier"

    This is reductive design, with the human usage of the tech as almost an afterthought

    Anyone who spends any budget money on this shit is a total idiot

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
  8. How do you see? by Yebyen · · Score: 1

    Did anyone watch the video and notice that there's no way to actually see when you're wearing these?

    This technology is obviously not ready for prime time...

    --
    Restating the obvious since nineteen aught five.
  9. So now we fake emotions technologically? by gweihir · · Score: 1

    All to make a quick buck. Despicable and repulsive.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    1. Re:So now we fake emotions technologically? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's an upgrade from the old technology (self help books about social skills)

  10. Re:The winking Virus and demon eyes by r_a_trip · · Score: 1

    Well, if it does demon eyes, I want one. I've been dying for the ability to flash the proverbial eyes that can kill.

    --
    # touch universe # chmod +rwx universe # ./universe
  11. Re:Zontar the Mindless: Eat your Words by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    Speaking of "creepy"...

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  12. Use Case by bradgoodman · · Score: 1

    I could use them for my wife long dissertations about "how her day was"...

    1. Re:Use Case by mevets · · Score: 1

      Donâ(TM)t worry. I have a feeling you wonâ(TM)t have to put up with that for much longer.

  13. Re:Other Uses by PPH · · Score: 1

    Cheap solution

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  14. Successful Glasses by cstacy · · Score: 2

    The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you've got it made.

  15. Re:Other Uses by mikael · · Score: 1

    Koreans have the solution - note-pad eye glasses:

    http://www.funshop.co.kr/goods...

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  16. Hey Al - please stop behaving like a child. by mmell · · Score: 1
    I'm afraid your anonymity is no longer effective. I'm relatively certain your invective never was.

    If you feel you've been wronged, how about demonstrating how you've been wronged instead of demonstrating that you deserve what you've gotten?

  17. Oh, I get it now. by mmell · · Score: 1
    You're just butt-hurt because your pet website only has 533 FB "likes" and now you're taking it out on Slashdot, Ars Technica, Windows IT Pro forums and anybody else you feel has "wronged" you by not bowing before you and crying out "we're not worthy"!

    You just keep bringing it on yourself.

  18. Simpsons did it by gijoel · · Score: 1

    Fantastic. I could wear it during jury duty. And no one would know I was asleep.