Why brains get creeped out by androids

And speaking of the brain, WIRED SCIENCE has a small story by Mark Brown that reports on a study thats attempt to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help understand the "uncanny valley" effect. This is a term coined by robotics professor Masahiro Mori related to reports that as androids become more human in appearance there is a purported drop in "likeability" on the part of human observers. The study, led by Ayse Pinar Saygin of the University of California, San Diego, was an attempt to explore the underlying brain bases of this phenomenon. Check out the WIRED SCIENCE article to learn more. As usual, results like these appear to be much too preliminary to be more than speculation or amusement for the tech media and those that follow them, such as the IS Group blog and me.

The Federation has a new name: FABBS

The Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences has changes its name to the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS). FABBS promotes human potential and well-being by advancing the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. It is a coalition of scientific societies that communicates with policy makers and the public about the importance and contributions of basic and applied research in these sciences. I (Philip Rubin) am a member of the FABBS Executive Committee.