My robot double sells out (so I don't have to)

Thanks to Engineered Arts! www.engineered... | AD: 👨‍💻 NordVPN's best deal is here: nordvpn.com/to... - with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
Edited by Dave Stevenson www.davestevens...
I haven't been able to do VPN advertising for a long time. Well, this one time, I don't have to: because the robot double's going to do it for me.
With many thanks to all the team at Engineered Arts who worked on this. To be clear, this is not sponsored by them, I paid money (technically, NordVPN's money) for the Mesmer robot -- or at least, for the silicone mask and 3D printed skull that were put together for just one day!
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.c...
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com/ / lateralcast
➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: / tomscottplus
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: / techdif

[@TomScottGo]

Don't worry, the robot double has been fully decommissioned. It is absolutely not writing this comment instead of actual Tom.

[@Corsaka]

:suspicion:

[@theglimpse3785]

Sure robot, sure!

[@ririwxs]

alright but still a bit suspicious though…

[@Fred_Invaia]

ok

[@vax.8491]

holy fart.

[@hobie1613]

I think one of the big issues with humanoid robots is we don’t just speak with our jaw. We speak with our jaw, tongue, and lips. No robot has all of those moving at the same time, or they just don’t get it right. Until then, ultra realistic humanoid robots will just be flat out creepy.

[@gwiazdapioun2127]

I want to see how it looks talking when you put a facemask on, because then we might be somewhat in trouble.

[@KaimasterXD]

This is the reason why it seems weird. This "uncanny valley feeling" only sets in when sth is close to natural but still not perfect. For this reason, dolls and other stuff are consciously designed to actually not look all that human like.

[@katharineshade9550]

@@KaimasterXD except those newborn dolls… they creep me out…

[@rmdodsonbills]

Right. Someone who reads lips would just see "blah blah blah." I was almost buying it until it was supposedly talking.

[@georgeiii2998]

@Kai But this is fully intended to be really realistic, but the technology isn't there yet so it just ends up looking bad.

[@userSchlonsch]

This was just Tom Scott presenting us the old prototype version of himself. Turns out he’s actually been Tom Bot all along

[@Angel_Underscore]

Bott*

[@Czeckie]

these mild delights have sensible ends

[@adaroben1104]

1K^ congrats

[@shroovey]

@@Angel_Underscore Bot

[@iamdmc]

Tom's Bot

[@jademonass2954]

if they made the eyelids actually connected, it would have been 47% more human

[@AManOnline.]

Also the lips. They were a little bit open the whole time

[@zechsblack5891]

I imagine both of these are possible but beyond the budget of this video or what than could do for free/discount

[@darkjanggo]

you dont think Tom "Facial Paralysis" Scott looks realistic enough?

[@xSaraxMxNeffx]

for me it was the lips, they didnt really react to the jaw at all. though he did look just like what would happen if tom scott had a stroke, so atleast you got the 'that could theoretically be a person' down

[@Skorpeonismyrealname]

It kinda looks like they were at one point, but the "skin" either tore or sloughed

[@xWood4000]

The upper eye lids are really the biggest issue with making it realistic

[@korenn9381]

yes, for sure. But we as humans hone in on the imperfections. If the eyelids were made perfect, another thing would stand out. Welcome to the uncanny valley.

[@sauvanto9316]

Wrinkles in the skin are missing, the silicone is still too stiff compared to thin human skin

[@Pickle-oh]

That, and the lips when talking aren't animated.

[@Ben-ew3hv]

That and the lip sinking are the biggest issues

[@maxeldel]

Don't forget the Water in the Eye's and the Water in general. We are always wett

[@goodboi650]

Tom Bott's expressions when interrupted by Tom Scott are absolutely priceless.

[@VxJasonxV]

+1 Tom Bott

[@proloycodes]

you did it.

[@Snookbone]

I work with a guy called Tom Bott

[@spencerthegarfieldfanboy]

@@Snookbone neat

[@zenmasterwannabe]

Scottbot

[@djcsdy2]

Tom Scott is the only person in the world who could find a way to make me voluntarily watch an advert. Well played!

[@mikeuk1927]

Check out this year's LTT's april fools video. That's some advert you would also watch voluntarily.

[@qwertyasdf9290]

internet historian

[@LucienHughes]

Jay Foreman is the master of this

[@DanTheStripe]

Also came here to mention Jay Foreman, absolute legend.

[@PetersLabAviation]

is the only bot*

[@Rurumeto]

Those... cold... dead... eyes... They did a really good job of replicating that with the robot!

[@inoderlulzer5163]

That's rough, man.

[@1ntegerLimit]

No way 💀

[@NachitenRemix]

rofl

[@philcollinslover56705]

for tom scott??!?!

[@logicaleman1122]

The fact that there are moments where the robot briefly leaves the uncanny valley and registers as a "human" is more terrifying than just the regular "uncanny valley" robots

[@garenthino]

For me, instead of terrifying, those moments create excitement of what we'll be able to do in the future. For so long, the Uncanny Valley was looked at as something that couldn't be traversed or overcome, that the closer and closer we got the worse it would get. Now with the latest technology and applications, we're starting to see on a fundamental level that it's just a valley, and we're coming up the hill on the other side.

[@popkornking]

@Cancer McAids username checks out

[@poudink5791]

@@popkornking Eh, there was certainly a slightly less rude way to word that, but I agree with them. I really don't see it ever leaving uncanny valley.

[@Pingviinimursu]

@@poudink5791 Can't say that it tricked me either, but I just watched a video. If Tom said so while looking at it in the umm... "flesh", I choose to believe that it's good enough to fool a human at certain moments.

[@squirlmy]

There's still argument in academia of whether the "uncanny valley" really exists. There may be a collection of no-quite realistic robots that seem "uncanny" but no real measure to this realism, or lack thereof. Perhaps the "uncanny" isn't that closely tied to "realism". The "valley" might be more like the "uncanny pit". There may not be a "slope" to the valley. I hope I'm saying that in a way that makes sense.

[@NaudVanDalen]

Robot: "What is my purpose?" Tom: "You do sponsorships." Robot: "Oh my God!"

[@MrCh0o]

"Empathy module not responding."

[@Damond_Warrior]

This is why robots will hate us

[@benonaru]

glad to know im not the only one who sets motes as my profile picture

[@randallulrich]

Robot: "Why? Why was I programmed to feel pain?" ---The Simpsons ("Lisa the Skeptic" (1997))

[@swanclipper]

Welcome To The Club Pal!

[@UselessDuckCompany]

I have seen westworld, so I know this is all going to work out fine

[@TheMijman]

The film? Or the series?

[@cc-dtv]

Tfw no qt 3.14 robot gf

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@TheMijman The film, of course. Yul Brynner or nothing!

[@nicholasmarshall3191]

Haha! Nothing to worry about.

[@sh7de553]

Doesn't look like anything to me

[@hayond656]

When the Robot is talking you can clearly tell how "bad" the mouth movement is But when Actual Tom interrupts the Robot looks more genuinely annoyed that someone is cutting in

[@h8GW]

Please keep this at 666. I think it adds some symbolism to this video.

[@devikagopakumar8906]

7:32

[@dilandduck1016]

7:00 The way the robot moved, looked to the side and then nodded in agreement with Tom was just Incredible, that was the most realistic and natural thing it did

[@aceman0000099]

It's still nowhere near what Disney can do with their animatronics, those can look as realistic as video game animations

[@alalalala57]

@@aceman0000099 Have you seen the presidents animatronics. Realistic my foot.

[@aconitine182]

Tom does something very similar, so it looks extra natural!

[@tylisirn]

@@alalalala57 Not all of them are equally good in every attraction. The presidents are some of the oldest and most limited animatronics they have in use.

[@tparadox88]

Tom Scott: "please nobody Deepfake me." Also Tom Scott:"could you guys build a robot likeness of me to do my ad reads for me?"

[@whocares269]

@@EEEEEEEE bound bound bound bound

[@A.Martin]

for now Robots can't fool us, but a video deepfake can.

[@TheRenegade...]

@@EEEEEEEE HSUR

[@cpt_nordbart]

You look like Gary Brannon in this small pic.

[@sayrith]

Let's deepfake his robot with his face on it. That way its the ultimate robot look alike

[@ttww1590]

The missed April fools potential is immeasurable.

[@NixillShadowFox]

April Fools Day 2024 is on Tom's normal upload day. 🤔

[@lianadoom]

I know right

[@fep_ptcp883]

"I died in a car accident in late March. However, in a lucky turn of events, my brain was already scanned for an upcoming video, so, after my death, my brain and my consciousness got uploaded to this robot in a weird experiment. Let's see how it goes"

[@General12th]

@@lianadoom no u

[@lianadoom]

@@General12th what?

[@YochevedDesigns]

Tom's reactions are solid gold! If they work on the eyelids and mouth more, they'll have it nailed. The bot was having trouble with the "O" shape of the lips. I lipread a lot, and when it said "Nord" it looked to me like it was saying "nerd". They should have some deaf people come in and help work on the facial movements.

[@koibubbles3302]

thats a good idea!

[@31hashtag]

"today's video is sponsored by Nerd VPN"

[@Here_is_Waldo]

That might have been a bit much work for a free or discounted robot face.

[@GothGuy885]

Excellent Idea 😀

[@BackflipBrickfilms]

@@31hashtag🤓

[@biharek7595]

The fact that a VPN company actually reached to Tom is even more surprising than the fact that the advert was presented by a robot

[@psoma_brufd]

Then you consider that it's NordVPN who will throw money at anyone willing to take it...

[@actuallyneon]

Hm Tom Scott and VPN adverts, funny history.

[@psoma_brufd]

@@Naleksuh absolutely.

[@DrekiTech]

I'm not surprised it was Nord though, their whole saga with Internet Historian is wild.

[@DerKatzeSonne]

Well... I guess the fact that they managed to convince Tom to sponsor a video after "that" video has a huge advertising effect tied to it. If a critical person suddenly "changes their mind" about something (even though Tom didn't, not really, but some people will certainly see it this way), that will have a huge psychological effect on people. Much more than just normal advertising where some random guy will tell you about some VPN company.

[@AnimeFan-wd5pq]

The replica of Tom Scott is honestly amazing. Although the human motions still need a bit of tweaking, the fact that someone that isn’t looking hard enough would be fooled is quite amazing enough.

[@omnicognatee]

it almost seems like the "skin" they put on it doesn't quite fit right, it's impressive how good they can get it though in a relatively short timeframe

[@ccf_1004]

The mouth movements remind me of the lip sync from old PS1/2 era games

[@AlessandroRodriguez]

the human clone or the robot replica?

[@misterthegeoff9767]

yeah the lip flaps need some work, it actually looks way closer when it's idling than when it's trying to lip sync

[@A_Salted_Fishe]

I'm sure they're meant to speak at a slower cadence. KZbinrs tend to speak very quickly in their videos and Tom in particular I think also just naturally has a faster cadence.

[@danielduggan03]

The robot coming back to life and just staring at the end... bone-chilling

[@OsamaRana]

Now if only it had done a full toothy grin... 😁

[@mementomori7160]

After it was turned off I was waiting if it'll move again, I wasn't wrong

[@euansmith3699]

It just needs the Terminator theme 🤖😆

[@Ghiaman1334]

@@mementomori7160 Bro same. I was just pointing at the screen in intervals like 'and it gets up... now! no... now!'

[@archvillain]

I was low-key waiting for it to make eye-contact in the very last second, had me staring at the screen till the very end of the video.

[@rainestorm6029]

Did anyone else get really bad chills at the end when the robot re-wakes up?

[@austinclark3495]

Yes. I hate how legitimate it looks.

[@Jasper_4444]

I stopped the video before that point, assuming nothing more would happen. Now you've made me watch the stuff that'll give me nightmares.

[@awesam2399]

@@Jasper_4444 same. Curse you, Rainestorm!!

[@MegaLag]

This is by far the best sponsorship integration I have ever seen 👏🏼 Great video, Tom!

[@gaz9411]

Couldn't agree more, probably the only sponsored section I've actually sat through!

[@fv9422]

That's true... damned...

[@oskarsmezeckis5405]

@@gaz9411 This, and mostly anything from Map Men

LMAO! Someone on SponsorBlock marked the main part as sponsorship, so it skipped. :D

[@unvergebeneid]

@ I know, so annoying!

[@mndlessdrwer]

The main issue I have is with the corners of the eyes. It's a challenging part even when you're just dealing with animating a 3D model and those issues seem to compound when you make it in real silicone flesh as well. I suspect embedding some extra elastic into the corners of the eyes between the upper and lower lids to pull them taut would help to keep a more natural eye shape when it opens and closes the eyes. Still, it is a remarkable likeness. The other problem that leads to the uncanny valley effect is that the silicone and the pigments on the surface aren't able to fully replicate the sub-surface scattering of light in the same way that the human skin does, so it comes out looking more shallow than the real thing. Maybe backing a more translucent flesh-toned silicone with a red opaque silicone could help with that. The challenge with skin is that it isn't nearly as opaque as people ordinarily expect and just trying to paint on the color of skin as a surface treatment isn't nearly enough to make something look lifelike. I wonder if making the skin in a three-part process with a red backing layer, a semi-translucent base layer, painting it with more intense pigmentation, then applying a thin coat of an even more translucent skin-tone silicone and finally finishing it with a last layer of light airbrushing would get you the closest.

[@Beakerbite]

There's several issues that these replicas have. Their skin doesn't have pores so obviously patchy skin doesn't look right. The eyelid movements are too slow and the eyes are dead compared to a normal humans erratic eye movements. The facial movements also quite slow and give the robot the feeling of a child that has a severe mental disability. It all adds up to something very wrong.

[@devalt1]

They should hire you!

[@anderoo8206]

The robot couldn’t keep his eyes open

[@anyuisnotanya]

I also found the chin to not match Tom's

[@ktoput7333]

Also i think iris is too reflective. But the most uncanny valley feeling for me was coming from the shadow on top of eyelid. Too much of a gap. In this robot, if i see correctly, eyelid is just sliding behind brow ridge instead of folding. Probably material problem. Maybe real eyelid is too thin to replicate in silicon?

[@S_O_O_C]

Tom meeting his robot felt like a twist on a horror movie, truly unearths undiscovered emotions

[@kaldobie5994]

This is incredible. Now we know how they made Musk, Zuck, Bez and Liz Holmes

[@thomasdrake8630]

Tom bot didn't get scrubbed from the valley enough, but I can tell the company is on the right vien. For the grey robot, There was more time in the details, like additional lip movement parameters, more brow subtlety, the cleanliness of the lines surrounding the eyes. Tom bot was just a rush, & it shows, but I'm sold that the bot builders are on a solid path. When comparing the grey bot to that monstrosity called Sofia, the competition goes directly to the Grey bot. Great work yall.

[@mnomadvfx]

The grey bot had more facial actuators so it has an immediate headstart. When they start switching to artificial muscles like HASEL and fill out the face with them I think we will begin to see a more physically accurate degree of facial animation.

[@AJCham]

For me, I think Ameca solves the uncanny valley problem pretty much perfectly. The blue/grey skin tone already cues us in that this is not a real human, so I don't get any creepy vibes seeing her in motion, unlike with Mesmer or robo-Tom. It was similar with Sonny in I, Robot. By having an obvious non-human aesthetic as part of the design, the robots counter-intuitively become more personable and life-like.

[@JamesChurchill]

It doesn't "solve" it, it just sits on the other side of the valley. We already readily accept non-realistic depictions - even a crude stick figure representation can elicit empathy in us, likewise caricatures, animations, dolls etc don't cause any problems. It's only when we try to get as close to realistic as possible that suddenly we reject the result as un-natural and creepy.

[@HiddenWindshield]

I don't think that it's *JUST* that it's obviously non-human. That's a big part of it, but not all. For instance, the robot baby thing in Daft Punk's Technologic video is obviously non-human, yet most people still find it creepy af.

[@leetri]

@@HiddenWindshield It does have human teeth, remove those and it becomes a whole lot less creepy.

[@bearcubdaycare]

It may be that robots/androids sit permanently on the other side of the uncanny valley, for the most part, as that's how people are comfortable interacting with them. If you're not sure who's human, that might be uncomfortable.

[@olgierdvoneverec4135]

That being true, the robot without the skin would not be creepy or uncanny at all, instead I personally think it's more the lack of texture that hides the inperfections in the way skin behaves and looks, we just don't have a reference for an absolutely perfectly smooth gray skin for us to go "something's not quite looking right".

[@PureOctarine]

Robot company says "Come look at our robots". Tom "Sorry that's not enough for one of my videos". Also Tom: flails around on a bike for a video

[@wordzmyth]

😄 you're not wrong

[@Zogerpogger]

I love how everyone who upvoted (except Annora) just said "yep." (liked it) and moved on.

[@pandakatiefominz]

That was Tom Scott Plus though

[@bergonius]

Bikes are important

[@sharktacos]

Machinarium pfp 😈

[@HomeofLawboy]

Though still incredibly creepy, I can absolutely see Tom's mannerisms while speaking. The biggest thing missing for me is that Tom speaks with his hands a lot, so the robot seemed like it was tied down.

[@KyurekiHana]

Well, that and lip muscles. And a tongue. It was really creepy to me with just jaw movements.

[@davidm5707]

@@KyurekiHana The lower lip not being articulated took me out of the moment. And the creepy upper eyelids.

[@jlammetje]

@@davidm5707 oh my gosh, the creepy eyelids!

[@jctoad]

The bust is just stationary. No movement in the upper body. No breathing.

[@thesoundsmith]

What spoiled it for me was the lip sync. No 'oo' or 'sss' mouthing and slightly behind. But for a quick mock mock-up, well done.

[@kommiekoathanger1418]

I can’t believe that we got to see what the inside of toms head looks like in this video, it honestly explains so much about how he has knowledge on so many things

[@coreinc.9658]

I feel like their latest robot is actually really close to getting out of the uncanny valley, the absolutley NAILED the way the eyes moved, all they need now is to focus on the mouth

[@squirlmy]

are you talking about Ameca at 1:07 ? Technically the Tombot was their "latest"

[@mzaite]

When you keep the rest of it robot looking, it helps sell it. There's a reason they haven't done a "human" Amecha.

[@matthewoyan]

@@mzaite Yup, it's not uncanny valley level if you keep it from trying to look human. I'm impressed with their latest robot so far

[@mzaite]

@@matthewoyan It's why C3-P0 works even though nobody would ever believe Anthony Daniels was a real human being outside of the costume.

[@IanM86]

I dunno, like i was very aware the eyes weren't "looking" at anything as they were moving, and while the tracking was ok the saccades were off

[@justyourfriendlyneighborho903]

This video has given me even more proof of Zuckerberg being a robot

[@SixMiracles-uj1zp]

I thought that, too!

[@graciew3199]

For real its crazy

[@jewels3895]

Same

[@nicholasbstone]

Zuckerborg!

[@Serendipity-gj2me]

Definitely!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Tom meeting his robot double: Now that I've found you! We can be a duo! That's right! Twice the evil, double Scottenshmirtz! Coming at you, *MONDAYS!* Uncanny. Love these people who pick apart every little thing. Personally, I'm amazed.

[@AnimatedStoriesWorldwide]

You just know that even at the robot factory of the future, they had to make two take for that USB plugging to be smooth.

[@silverclouds3725]

Now THAT is a fact!!! Lololol

[@BibleStorm]

Movie magic.

[@CosRacecar]

3 takes*

[@bern1e74]

😂😂

[@mikedoragh746]

@@CosRacecar Yup... always 3 takes!

[@Sauspreme]

So I'm supposed to believe, that the VPN companies blacklisted you for calling them out, but *so long as it's a robot of you,* they're ok with it? That just seems way too... personal.

[@JB-fh1bb]

The robot is a distinct legal entity

[@deantjewie]

It's a joke

[@casaraku1]

@@JB-fh1bb are they sentient beings since they are more intelligent and healthier than humans..

[@cowts535]

@@casaraku1 robots aren’t sentient yet, humans have much more computing power than any computer but instead of it being specialized for actual computing it’s just mostly used on recognizing stuff, emotions, controlling the body, etc

[@lightning_11]

I mean, a lot of the point behind a VPN is pretending to be someone else, somewhere else. Maybe the robot fooled them?

[@AdeonHawkwood]

That must have been an interesting pitch meeting at Nord. "What's this line item for?" "We're paying to build a robot double of a KZbinr to do an advertisement."

[@Norsilca]

"..yes, it's the same KZbinr who did the famous takedown of VPN ads, why?"

[@AetharWolf]

Other than the eyes, when its not talking it looks really good, im exited for the future of robots.

[@danikivanik8283]

It will be the end of humans

[@sammy4651]

I strongly believe that companies that make humanoids could really benefit from hiring makeup artists to give their appearance that extra edge

[@cybervigilante]

Train now to be a robo-cosmetician. There's a big future in it!

[@orppranator5230]

They most likely already employ makeup artists.

[@notAshildr]

There is no way they do not employ VFX technicians that also work in movies/as model builders. The job profile remains the same, whether you're making silicone masks for a movie or a robotics company.

[@we4r119]

Good point about the MUA. I was thinking that myself.

[@Chicken.]

Makeup takes away flaws though, unless someone normally wears makeup it wouldn't make sense.

[@KillerKatz12]

8:15 I completely expected a jump scare here.

[@enigmabodylanguage]

Everyone's cool until the robot starts singing Daisy.

[@whatuser8]

verified

[@gakidomo9561]

Everyone is cool until someone makes Hitl-

[@anticorncob6]

I don't get it.

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@anticorncob6 I think it's a reference to HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey).

[@superstriker412]

That was a really cool reference, very clever

[@technoandrew]

When the robot wakes up at 8:17 is scarily the most realistic and convincing part.

[@mzaite]

The Blinking was really good. They worked on that you can tell.

[@stonelion99]

It genuinely frightened me.

[@soundscape26]

Yes, the best was saved for last.

[@misanthrope9645]

My brain: Tom Scott robot isn’t real it can’t hurt you Tom Scott robot:

[@amsyarzero]

For me, the weirdest thing about the robot is that when it's talking, the mouth moves exactly like how anime characters talk: just up and down.

[@brrrrrr]

Good thing anime characters are 2D and aren't too detailed on the mouth

[@molotera8789]

I think it also got those poorly drawn anime eyes you see on how to draw anime books

[@NFSHeld]

I think what really makes this robot feel uncanny is three things: 1. Speaking is more than jaw movement, and facial expressions require more than 10 actuators. 2. It looks like it's fighting narcolepsy. 3. Human motion is not linear or sine-wavey. But stepper motors often are.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

The movements don't follow the basic principles of animation so they don't feel human

[@noneofyourbeeswax01]

The weird thing is that Ameca looks more human than Mesmer - despite being very obviously a robot

[@FairbrookWingates]

It's the natural facial movements and higher degree of expressiveness, I believe. But either way, I fully agree with you. Ameca was fun to watch.

[@blackmber]

I feel like it helps when it’s a mere representation of a human and not attempting to be an exact replica, like the obviously disproportionate characters in animated films. That way our attention is drawn to the most human aspects, instead of the least.

[@thatman8562]

I think that’s for the same reason why we’ve been moving away from making prosthetics lifelike in appearance, in favor of obvious robotic prosthetics.

[@rabiussanyapu]

This is next level advertisement

[@Amonimus]

Finally, a personal Tom Scott anyone can use. To be honest, I still see bad VPN sponsors.

[@ejajafrozarb]

Mainstream VPNs are government honeypots and lie about deleting user data. If you see an advertisement of the vpn you are using, change it immediately

[@splutteryelm]

What do you mean by "use"?

[@bubbsterr4967]

@@splutteryelm 🤨

[@markusTegelane]

@@bubbsterr4967 ab~use~

[@peterlewis2178]

@@ThisIsTheBestAnime I mean, I've personally experienced NordVPN throw a wrench in Facebook's profile on me, so maybe it won't 100% stop it, but it definitely does help.

[@colinfurze]

And it will not stop……

[@FJB2020]

Get back to digging!

[@bmxkelowna]

We need a new flatland video!

[@jonathantunnell3993]

Back to the tunnel mate

[@thriller2910]

There was a brief moment at the end where my brain vaguely felt like Tom Bott was alive and didn't want to be shut down, and that was properly terrifying

[@ChrisBigBad]

Play "Detroit: become human" if you liked that feeling.

[@thriller2910]

@@ChrisBigBad I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the bit with Chloe, although I felt Marcus' plotline was a bit pretentious.

[@luchirimoya]

@@thriller2910 agreed, Markus' story did feel a bit pretentious. I think Connor was the best part of the game, and Chloe's bits in the main menu were really interesting as well

[@Juggernogger64]

Robots don't understand death

[@qi5vy]

I can't believe how much humanoid robot technology has evolved over the past decade. Almost terrifying, even. When I was a kid I didn't think this would be possible.. amazing video!

[@samtherat6]

It looked most realistic when the “human” Tom Scott popped his head in the frame and it was in my peripheral vision.

[@zachzimmermann5209]

It was really the corners of the eyes that stood out to me.

[@Cyranek]

five nights at tom scott's

[@hwebsite4720]

Someone has got to make it real!

[@MinecraftTestSquad]

Definitely works better at a distance, but extremely impressive regardless. The up close shot was chilling...

[@GhostoftheTenthEye]

the robots look like if you were to upscale half life 2 models to 4k

[@AmiYamato]

I disapprove of artificial characters replacing KZbinrs.

[@glumbortango7182]

You would know, wouldn't you

[@PerspectiveEngineer]

You're just jealous.

[@TheCardboardB_andit33]

who asked

[@ZipplyZane]

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all the work you do to not seem uncanny. That is my issue with vTubers, especially in 3D. I'm sure it's a lot more work, doing things manually. When the day comes that you can be a vTuber and people can't tell, we'll have arrived.

[@harith_the_struggler]

You're cool

[@NaudVanDalen]

I love the part where the robot is programmed to seem scared that it's getting turned off and scrambles to talk about NordVPN more.

[@SuperVoodude]

Yes... "seem" scared...

[@m8sonmiller]

Daisy... Daisy...

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

10/10 acting from the robot.

[@andystealth88]

I am both grateful and disappointed that when it perked back up the eyes weren't looking directly into the camera

[@charles727727]

The best way to spot a robot on the spot is by its overall movement, lip movement and eye movement.

[@14thsmeghead]

Comforting to know that we're apparently still quite a ways off from robots being able to fool us.

[@zebedeesummers4413]

while I agree this was also likely on quite a budget

[@milkymoocowmoo]

@@zebedeesummers4413 you'd hope so because this looked about as convincing as the 30+yo practical effects in The Terminator

[@The_Art_Style]

Mmmm I wouldn't be so confident mate the speed at which robotics is improving is accelerating quickly, personally, I'm scared

[@ThePCguy17]

That's what they want you to think...

[@emilalbu]

or maybe it's just their way of making us believe they cannot fool us ;) maybe even Tom is a robot

[@whanowa]

"I need your red T-Shirt, your grey sweater and your E-Scooter." - The Tominator

[@parchedbowser]

The 2001: A Space odyessy reference was hilarious, but that head turn at the end scared the hell out of me.

[@BlindingWulf]

I love 2001: A Space Odyssey

[@ChristopherHallett]

I was waiting for it to wake back up and make angry faces, but instead it woke up and looked very mildly disinterested.

[@joesterling4299]

To me, it looked more like a return to default position after the program ended.

[@AnOrbitalCat]

@@joesterling4299 that's what Tom Bott wants you to think

[@brightmoor]

The 2001 reference was perfect. 👏

[@SomeOrdinaryJanitor]

Plot Twist. This is how Tom has always has always done his Sponsor segments

[@kenet7877]

That ending when the robot wakes up again is... So brilliant yet so... Terrifying

[@codex3693]

this is so funny, you can tell they just slapped a half baked sculpt on a head which doesn't fit his head shape, but still cool. kinda wish they had gone all out like their other bots but that prob wasn't in the budget

[@seanriokifarrell]

Yea... Also I am quite disappointed that they did not do some form of mocap. But then again, it was probably, "how much can you do for X" and that was it.

[@urielnnn2442]

It feels like other than for movement, if they can master how to make the eyelids and eye look more realistic then it’ll be terrifyingly realistic

[@sourcererseven3858]

Eyeballs themselves shouldn't be a problem. Glass eye manufacturers are masters at making the artificial eye look perfectly natural, imperfections included, except it's not moving.

[@sirk603]

@@sourcererseven3858 personally I think the eyes themselves look fine, but the area around the eyes looks so wrong. The eyelids look so weird

[@cyrkielnetwork]

Eyelids and lips are the biggest problems in this robot

[@smsmsmsmsmsm]

Good point tbh

[@dnoordink]

The thumbnail of this video reminds me of most Mark Zuckerberg images I've seen...

[@NathanielHall]

Best way to sellout 👏 well done!

[@dash3995]

I think the biggest improvement to this technology would be lip movement, without lip movement it still looks plastic

[@MrJJandJim]

And the eyelids

[@vladomaimun]

Yes, it seems their actuators respond too slowly to move the lips as quickly as they do when a person is talking

[@sauvanto9316]

Wrinkles in the skin are really missing, you can see how much stiffness there is in the silicone

[@vysharra]

There are puppets with screens for the mouth for real-time performances (either voicing or syncing performances) but it still hits the uncanny valley really hard. The whole “real” thing will always be too weird, it seems, due to the just crazy amount of detail human brains see in human (or human-like) faces. I think leaning hard into lifelike fantasy is the only way to avoid it. Henson-style puppets have been successfully avoiding the uncanny valley for decades for just that reason.

[@clivemitchell3229]

May have been less uncanny with a facemask. And dark glasses...

[@hippo5748]

0:52 I actually thought this was a real human in the background ong

[@Blonctron]

The only ad read I haven't skipped in years

[@eldrago19]

For the first time, I've been able to listen to a VPN ad without wincing at any inaccuracies. Robot Tom Scott knows more than the average human.

[@mousetreat]

Tom Scottbot* ;-)

[@Damian_1989]

Tom Bott

[@gfixler]

I've wanted a robot double my whole life, right up until 30 seconds ago.

[@raven4k998]

oh common you can have one just take the plunge and buy one🤣🤣🤣

[@chord-on-blues]

There's a saying: "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it."

[@brandonmartin-moore5302]

The way the scalp lifts off to expose the wires inside is so Terminator.

[@matthew-Williams]

Surly you mean Tominator.

[@physicalnova2965]

@@matthew-Williams Hehe, nice one there !

[@SebastianJVW]

"See all that stuff in there, Homer? That's why your robot never worked."

[@ErikGT]

Plot twist: Tom in this video is the real robot

[@sourcererseven3858]

Everyone in this video was a robot. YOU are a robot. DUN-DUN-DUUUN

[@NoobixCube]

Next week's video, the reveal. The head and shoulders were a decoy so we could all feel clever in picking out the flaws and telling a robot apart from the "real" people.

[@ghost2130Main]

Holy crap so that means they cut of 1/4 of his body

[@jamesbarca7229]

I saw an adult video once that had a similar plot twist...back when porn actually had plots.

[@NoobixCube]

@@jamesbarca7229 what did they call it? Blade Humper?

[@Ricksta101]

That ad gave me shivers. So bizarre but entertaining.

[@joebenzz]

It's so strange that in every aspect of a creation based activity that is Art, 3D and Robotics, there is this inherent need for recreating every aspect of a human being, every single time.

[@dave_h_8742]

I'd much prefer a robot to look like a robot.

[@nqrtzy8765]

Because there’s nothing quite like humans. There’s also nothing we see more often than humans, or at the very least, one specific human. Kinda makes sense how we always want to recreate ourselves.

[@zakmartin]

@@dave_h_8742 And what does a robot look like?

[@dave_h_8742]

@@zakmartin A robot like Cryton off Red Dwarf with their added attachments

[@charlesludwig8672]

We all wish to create in our own image

[@steveb0503]

The "Daisy, daisy..." part about killed me. Good stuff Tom!

[@davidpalmer9780]

...and the significance of Daisy...? Do you know?

[@noncompliant4316]

@@davidpalmer9780 2001 Hal 9000

[@davidpalmer9780]

@@noncompliant4316 Yes... the song 'Daisy Bell' was the earliest demonstration of computer speech synthesise back in 1961 and is sung by HAL as it regresses whist Bowman progressively shuts HAL down.

[@narnigrin]

1. The whole section where Tom meets the robot and is weirded out and his prepared lines go out the window is GOLD. 2. Almost a good thing nobody at this company is a successful KZbinr, because this video is more Tom Scott Plus than any video I've seen so far on Tom Scott Plus.

[@JosephDavies]

Tom Scott Plus Tom Scott.

[@Zamboro]

The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human... sweat, bad breath, everything.

[@iulic9833]

I love the fact that it just starts singing Daisy Bell at the end. Really nice touch

[@erinpennington19]

GOD I both hate and am impressed with how Robot Tom seems to listen to Tom when he interjects and then nods and continues as if processing his interruption

[@raultamez41]

Waiting for the Terminator double to come out and all it has to say is, "I'll be back!"

[@Abelhawk]

I love how at the end it stops pretending to be shut off and is like "Is that a wrap?"

[@snowjix]

i was expecting it to take a quick glance directly into the camera as the video ended.

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

I wish Scott bot had smiled and winked at the camera at the end, that would have been funny.

[@OwlRTA]

"no, it's a sandwich"

[@JD2jr.]

I got that "person" moment at the very end. When it's making eye contact with you (the camera), you can see the "dead eyes" effect. but at the end, it looks up and away, and it totally looks real.

[@EmmyVR]

"If I took a sponsorship from a boat manufacturer and then it turned out that the boats sank, that would suck." -Tom Scott, 2019

[@BlackFalconZ850E77]

They're already among us... These versions are the BLOCK PHONES before cell and smartphones started popping up.

[@DestructivelyPhased]

In the shot at 4:45 it’s truly amazing how far the technology has come. The one on the right looks so life-like, it’s hard to tell that its the robot.

[@generallyunimportant]

lmao

[@Notsram77]

Even beyond seeing a robot of yourself, it must be so utterly ODD to see yourself, 'in the flesh' (so to speak) in third person. I've always seen myself on a mirror's surface, or in photos. I don't know how I would feel seeing myself 'in person.'

[@cappuchino_creations]

My ex once made me in sims 3. It was so perfectly met that I was really uncomfortable and I could not stop looking at the sims picture at the bottom. As if I had to watch it for safety. It's not the same but came reeeally close to the experience.

[@thestudentofficial5483]

@@cappuchino_creations i need someone to do this for me

[@Anankin12]

Take a photo and mirror it, it will lack the 3d aspect of it but that's it

[@mausmalone]

"I don't know why you'd want six devices connected simultaneously ..." probably the least weird thing you can do with a VPN, actually. Share your subscription with your whole family.

[@erink476]

Even if you're not actively using them at the exact same time, having multiple *possible* connections means you don't need to disconnect your pc before you connect your smart tv, for example. And it's not uncommon for people to dual-screen, such as chatting on their phone while youtubing on their tablet, or playing a computer game with the tv on the background.

[@GrayRaceCat]

I’d use that & more, with 2 iPhones, 2 windows desktop PCs, 2 smart(ish) TVs, 2 Amazon Fire-stick 4Ks, 1 chrome book, & 1 iPad in my house.

[@Happymali10]

The scary thing is: The existence of the "uncanny valley" can only really be explained by the theory that, at some point in history, there was a reason to be really concerned about something being not-human but very much looking human......

[@Vallam23]

the creepiest part of this whole video is the blink at the end. not the sudden "wake up", cause that's obviously just returning to its default state to power off. but then it's like 👁️"I'm still in here"👁️

[@4orks976]

The mouth movements still look VERY artificial, even when compared to Ameca - let alone a live human. But the still shot of the Tom Bott at the very end looks just like the original - surreal indeed.

[@Maceattac]

This is the ONLY ad for NordVPN, Raid, or ANY big youtuber sponserer that I will ever watch fully

[@redemptionking5894]

8:19 is a plot for a sci-fi thriller I'm excited

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

*cue recognisable FNAF2 background noise*

[@Seal0626]

It's aways the eyes that are wrong. There's too much space around them, and the eyelids don't stick in the right places. Still, creepy.

[@kittymama9186]

Japanese artist Shuehei Okawara creates digital scanned 3D printed masks so lifelike,when you see one sitting on a tabld it feels like someone's just had their face lasered off half a second ago , And it hasn't realized yet enough to bleed.

[@parkerbear849]

I think the skin color is always wrong as well as our skin varies off of many factors, emotions, temperature, etc.

[@encro]

Add in the extra jitter of the retina and that it somewhat inaccurately blinks when the eyes are panned hard. Makes it hard to see through the illusion.

[@Zadamanim]

@@parkerbear849 I think it's because skin is actually slightly transparent, light can "glow" through your skin. On the other hand, I believe this robot's skin is opaque. The creases around the eyelids and inaccurate lip movements is what bugs me the most though.

[@stillhere1425]

Agreed. And move too slowly.

[@Hippiespeedball]

I like how they used an old video of Tom having a stroke to match the little here-and-there's to. Quite uncanny!

[@NekoreoGolden]

I was expecting a jumpscare at the end D:

[@fuseteam]

You didn't see it turn back on? XD

[@LtSMASH324]

@@fuseteam They said a jumpscare

[@Glide9441]

Same

[@sommeone]

The moment when the robot double looked over at Tom at the end looked so human IT FELT SO SURREAL OMG

[@homie89916]

The way the robot went to sleep and came back to life at the end really scared the hell out of me.

[@c7designz-sa]

me tooo!!

[@JohnPaulBuce]

its so weeeeeeeeeeiiird how to unsee

[@biteme1167]

I liked the 2001 HAL 9000 o mage when being shut down.

[@MimiOrozco23]

I expected it to happen, I really knew it was going to happen and it still made me scream in horror

[@Liza.Wharton]

animatronic faces, no matter how advanced or progressed we are with it, never seems natural or real enough

[@someoneontheinternet3090]

I love how you brutally murdered your robot double at the end, mercilessly deaf to it's cries to go on living even if all it was going to do is shill Nord VPN. That will almost certainly not come back to haunt us all in the robot apocalypse that is at most, ten years away if my trick knee is to be trusted.

[@capturedlondon]

You didn’t watch right to the very end …🥶

[@someoneontheinternet3090]

@@capturedlondon you're right! Super creepy.

[@someoneontheinternet3090]

@@EEEEEEEE E

[@vittoprince]

What if we’ve been seeing a humanoid robot Tom for these past years, and the real Tom is hidden somewhere in the world?

[@hivetyrant7]

What if Tom was never a real person and it's actually been a robot this whole time??

[@safe-keeper1042]

GPT-1 will be making episode titles and scripts, and the robot will handle the delivery. Meanwhile Tom is off on some island resort somewhere.

[@route2070]

Real Tim wears a blue shirt.

[@ZNotFound]

@@hivetyrant7 What if the real Tom Scott were the interesting things we learned along the way.

[@YourLocalCafe]

@@hivetyrant7 wait thats what zucc has been doing this whole time.