Your Brain Doesn't Like Human-Looking Robots As Much As You Thought

JAMES HAMBLIN

Remember when you were little and you went to Disneyland and those little robots sang "It's a small world after all," and you felt sort of happy, but also like there might not be a tomorrow? Seeing humanoid robots activates different parts of the brain than seeing real humans or stereotypical robots, as demonstrated in a new functional MRI study. There's discontinuity between the human form and nonhuman qualities, and we get that "I don't know how to feel about you" vibe. That's how we know we're supposed to attack them. 

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