Uncanny or Not? Perceptions of AI-Generated Faces in Autism

TL;DR

This study explores how autistic individuals perceive AI-generated faces, revealing they may experience the uncanny valley differently, which has implications for designing inclusive AI and assistive technologies.

Contribution

It provides qualitative insights into autistic perceptions of AI faces and uncovers differences in uncanny valley experiences among autistic individuals.

Findings

Autistic individuals report stronger discomfort with real human faces than AI-generated ones.

Perceptions of AI faces differ significantly in autistic populations compared to neurotypical groups.

The study offers new understanding of visual perception in autism related to synthetic faces.

Abstract

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly sophisticated at generating synthetic human faces, understanding how these images are perceived across diverse populations is important. This study investigates how autistic individuals/individuals with autism perceive AI-generated faces, focusing on the uncanny valley effect. Using a qualitative approach, we analyzed discussions from the r/autism community on Reddit to explore how autistic participants/participants with autism describe their experiences with AI-generated faces and the uncanny valley phenomenon. The findings suggest that autistic people/people with autism may experience the uncanny valley differently, often reporting stronger discomfort with real human faces than with artificial ones. This research contributes to our understanding of visual perception in autism and has implications for the development of inclusive AI systems and assistive technologies.