The uncanny valley is a concept from robotics and psychology that describes a strange, uncomfortable feeling people get when something looks almost human—but not quite. How it works Imagine a spectrum: • On one end: clearly non-human things (like cartoon characters or simple robots). These usually feel cute, safe, or friendly. • As they become more human-like, our comfort generally increases. • But then, when something becomes very human-like—yet still has small details that feel “off”—our comfo