8.4 Revised Introduction

I more or less already opened with a rhetorical question (bullet point 4 under tip number 1).  I used this same format with the revised opening, but made some changes.  I tried to shorten the overall paragraph a bit and put more explanation into the uncanny valley.  Since people commented on explaining the acronym of CGI, I instead opted to remove it altogether as it wasn't important to the overall paper.  I added the final sentence, using 'it will explore', as I felt an explicit forecast better suited the scientific nature of the article.  The thesis statement is actually in the second paragraph of the introduction, which I still tried to streamline.

Old intro:

Imagine a future where films no longer use real actors, but rather fully CGI characters that can be animated into realistic situations?  Imagine robots that are designed to look just like us, can mimic our very motions, walking around and interacting with us.  Does this idea make you uneasy?  Maybe it’s because you’ve seen The Matrix and Terminator movies, and know what super-smart AI is capable of.  Or maybe it’s because you’ve seen some modern day human-like robots and, well, they’re kind of creepy.  This, according to the popular culture surrounding robotics, is the uncanny valley.

The uncanny valley is an almost universally accepted model for why we find certain robots or CGI characters 'creepy'.  But what if the theory was simply not true?  Eric Sofge of Popular Mechanics uses a primarily logic-based argument, supported by facts and research, to show the uncanny valley may not have the titular valley that we imagine it to.

New intro:

Imagine a future where realistic computer graphics have replaced all actors.  Imagine robots that are designed to look just like us, walking around and interacting with us.  Does this idea make you uneasy?  Maybe it’s because you’ve seen films such as the Terminator, and know what super-smart AI is capable of.  Or maybe it’s because you’ve seen some modern day humanoid robots and, well, they’re kind of creepy.  This disgust towards near-realistic humanoids, according to the popular culture surrounding robotics, is the uncanny valley. 

While the uncanny valley is an almost universally accepted model for why we find certain robots or CGI characters 'creepy', there is some debate about whether the theory is even true.  Eric Sofge of Popular Mechanics uses a primarily logic-based argument, supported by facts and research, to show the uncanny valley may not be the titular valley that we imagine it to.  This paper will explore the validity of one of robotics' most notorious public-relations dilemmas.