The Uncanny Valley and the Ghost in the Machine

https://openmethods.dariah.eu/2019/06/28/the-uncanny-valley-and-the-ghost-in-the-machine/ OpenMethods introduction to: The Uncanny Valley and the Ghost in the Machine 2019-06-28 10:55:32 Introduction: There is a postulated level of anthropomorphism where people feel uncanny about the appearance of a robot. But what happens if digital facsimiles and online editions become nigh indistinguishable from the real, yet materially remaining so vastly different? How do we ethically provide access to the digital object without creating a blindspot and neglect for the real thing. A question that keeps digital librarian Dot Porter awake and which she ponders in this thoughtful contribution. Joris van Zundert http://www.dotporterdigital.org/the-uncanny-valley-and-the-ghost-in-the-machine-a-discussion-of-analogies-for-thinking-about-digitized-medieval-manuscripts/ Blog post Artifacts Capture Conversion Digital Humanities Images Imaging Interpretation Manuscript Methods Preservation Research Activities Research Objects Research Techniques Storage Text Bearing Objects Theorizing Visualization Book of Hours Book terminology Cartesian dualism Council on Library and Information Resources Digital Humanist digital humanities digital librarian digital photography electronic page epic poetry fan art fan fiction fan vids ghost in the machine Manuscripts Middle Ages mind-body dualism Office of the Dead open access open source Organization for Transformative Works Penitential Psalms real person fiction social media Textual criticism Textual scholarship The Ghost in the Machine Transformative Works and Cultures Uncanny valley University of Pennsylvania Walter Benjamin Walters Art Museum

Introduction by OpenMethods Editor (Joris van Zundert): There is a postulated level of anthropomorphism where people feel uncanny about the appearance of a robot. But what happens if digital facsimiles and online editions become nigh indistinguishable from the real, yet materially remaining so vastly different? How do we ethically provide access to the digital object without creating a blindspot and neglect for the real thing. A question that keeps digital librarian Dot Porter awake and which she ponders in this thoughtful contribution.  

If a digitized manuscript isn’t a manuscript, how can we present it in ways that explore aspects of the original’s manuscript-ness, ethically and with care, while both pushing and respecting the boundaries of technology?

Source: The Uncanny Valley and the Ghost in the Machine: a discussion of analogies for thinking about digitized medieval manuscripts

Author: Author on Source

Drs. Joris J. van Zundert (1972) is a senior researcher and developer in humanities computing. He holds a research position in the department of literary studies at the Huygens Institute for the History of The Netherlands, a research institute of The Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). His main interest as a researcher and developer is in the possibilities of computational algorithms for the analysis of literary and historic texts, and the nature and properties of humanities information and data modeling. His current research focuses on computer science and humanities interaction and the tensions between hermeneutics and ‘big data’ approaches.