The idea of the uncanny valley was originally proposed by Masahiro Mori, a Japanese roboticist, in 1970.

ECONOMIST: Animation and robotics

The uncanny valley phenomenon was put forth in an article in "Energy" in 1970 by Japanese robotics expert Masahiro Mori.

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In a phrase first coined by the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori, get too human and they fall into the "Uncanny Valley", that point on a graph that plots acceptance against how human like a robot is where acceptance falls through the floor.

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