uncanny valley

[ uhn-kan-ee val-ee ]

/ ʌnˈkæn i ˈvæl i /

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a psychological concept that describes the feelings of unease or revulsion that people tend to have toward artificial representations of human beings, as robots or computer animations, that closely imitate many but not all the features and behaviors of actual human beings.
the dip in positive feelings toward such artificial representations.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

1970; coined by Masahiro Mori, Japanese roboticist (born 1927), from Japanese bukimi no tani (genshō) “uncanny valley (phenomenon)”

There are two full-on song-and-dance numbers in this movie — only two, not enough to make it a movie musical, but two more than you’ll find in your average feature film, which means it enters a kind of movie-musical uncanny valley.
The fabulous Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar recalls a bygone age of wackadoodle comedy|Alissa Wilkinson|February 12, 2021|Vox
But the people from Valley Stream had such a thick New York accent that was all around me.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The region is marketed for visitors as “Aryan Valley,” and many citizens have taken to tacking on “Aryan” to their last names.
The Himalayas’ Hidden Aryans|Nina Strochlic|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Time was suspended as the world watched and waited for news about the young, brave girl from the Swat Valley.
Promoting Girls’ Education Isn’t Enough: Malala Can Do More|Paula Kweskin|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A brilliant Silicon Valley entrepreneur may have found a way to get dark money out of politics without changing any laws.
How to Fight Corruption With Game Theory|Mark McKinnon|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Greer is a young, entrepreneurial, poker-loving Texan who ended up in Silicon Valley.
How to Fight Corruption With Game Theory|Mark McKinnon|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
San Antonio de Bexar lies in a fertile and well-irrigated valley, stretching westward from the river Salado.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
When it cleared, the valley was a solid expanse of white, and the stars shone out as if in an Arctic sky.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
At the foot of the pass, the valley widened a little, though still with steep, snow-capped cliffs crowding it on either side.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
It was a sad day for Ramona and Alessandro when the kindly Hyers pulled up their tent-stakes and left the valley.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
For an Indian to sell a horse and wagon in the San Jacinto valley was not an easy thing, unless he would give them away.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson