Gallery: Tour the Labs Where the World's Creepiest Humanoid Robots Are Born

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    Yves Gellie
    01

    01Gellie©

    “With “Human Version” I explore the ongoing, ambiguous relationships between photography and reality, and I experiment with the storytelling power of the image.”
  • Image may contain Hiroshi Ishiguro Furniture Chair Human Person Sitting Footwear Clothing Shoe Apparel and Door
    Yves Gellie
    02

    02Gellie©

    Gellie thinks that much of technology, such as artificial heart transplants, are humanity’s attempts to escape mortality.
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    Yves Gellie
    03

    03Gellie©

    The Japanese government, in response to an aging population with stillborn growth, is allocating funds for research in robotics to help with nursing home care.
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    Yves Gellie
    04

    04Gellie©

    RoboCup, an annual international event, pits autonomous robots against one another in games of soccer. The organization wants to have a mechanized team ready to take on the World Cup 2050 winners.
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    Yves Gellie
    05

    05Gellie©

    Before becoming a photojournalist Gellie practiced medicine in Gabon and Paris.
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    Yves Gellie
    06

    06Gellie©

    Artificial intelligence researcher Hooman Samani, who created his own discipline called “Lovotics” to explore human/robot relationships, introduced a robot in 2011 which purported to have synthetic behavioral chemicals mimicking oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin and endorphins.
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    Yves Gellie
    07

    07Gellie©

    Inspired by his reporting for Human Version Gellie took a trip to Afghanistan to research the use of drones by the French and American militaries.
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    Yves Gellie
    08

    08Gellie©

    “One of the only things that differentiates us, the last bulwark between man and machine, is the inside, the “Me”, the “I”. This notion is challenged by various philosophical schools. How will we live and coexist with these new machines who will one day develop their own worldview?”
  • Image may contain Furniture Chair Human Person Helmet Clothing and Apparel
    Yves Gellie
    09

    09Gellie©

    Isaac Asimov created a set of three laws which robots would be required to follow. The first: “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”
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    Yves Gellie
    10

    10Gellie©

    As improvements in automated cars are made, ethicists are exploring how on-board computers should prioritize safety during a crash.
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