The uncanny valley is right at our doorstep

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Eguchi Aimi. She is the latest member of Japanese pop band AKB48, and her perfect good looks and uncanny similarities to other AKB48 members have taken the Internet by storm.

Well, no, not really.

To put things into context, take a look at the video below:

Just a bunch of kawaii Japanese girls advertising some candy, right? Looks tasty, too, like one of Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstoppers. But take special notice of the girl in the center. Yes, the prettiest of the lot. Since the commercial went live on Japanese TV, she has attracted a lot of attention and a large fan base eager to learn more about her.

As it turns out, the Japanese were just being, you know, Japanese, and candy company Ezaki Glico has confirmed that Eguchi Aimi is completely computer generated. She’s made a composite of facial features from the six other AKB48 members in the commercial.

According to Channel News Asia, Eguchi Aimi took the best features of her real counterparts, namely Atsuko Maeda (eyes), Tomomi Itano (nose), Mariko Shinoda (mouth), Yuko Oshima (hair/ body), Minami Takahashi (outline) and Mayu Watanabe (eyebrows). Her voice was then provided by Yukari Sasaki.

Take a look at how the CGI was done:

Astute observers have been pointing out her seemingly photoshopped qualities, so the revelation doesn’t really come as a surprise to many. To top it off, crushes on virtual girls aren’t all that uncommon in Japan or anywhere else. (In fact, I remember my first virtual crush was Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII)

But the greater implication is this: very soon, we won’t be able to tell our reality from virtual reality. Eguchi Aimi looks pretty darn real to me, and if AKB48 and Glico had managed to pull off the ruse without anyone catching on, would they have continued using her in other promotional materials?

At this rate of technological advancement, it won’t be ten years before we can see an entire movie made up of CGI characters looking like they real actors. And then what, synthetic life forms which look and behave exactly like us?

The wait is almost over, my friends. Look out for a Goondu review of the latest Domestic Helper Bot 9000 (probably running Android Tao Sah Piah) in 20 years’ time.