Lifelike robots, AI voices and too-real cakes keep people looking up the uncanny valley. Find out which cue makes your almost-human thing feel off.
Almost HumanWhere does it sit on the uncanny valley?
Rate how real each cue looks. The page parks a coaster car on the curve - cartoon side, the valley, or convincing - and names the cue to move first.
1 The thing
2 Rate the cues
0 = plainly fake or cartoon, 10 = you could not tell it from the real thing. Drag a slider to rate that cue; tick skip for cues it does not have. A few words per cue help the run.
3 The ride free
The page's own read
4 Check it
One run names the cue that gives it away and gives concrete moves in the direction the rule picks - toward cartoon, toward real, or into line with the other cues. The page re-checks the reply against its own numbers.
The ride report - none yet
-What gives it away
Which way to move it
Ride report
The page's check
5 Saved rides
How the verdict is decided
Human-likeness is the mean of your ratings times 10 (0 to 100); the spread is your highest rating minus your lowest. Under 60 is the cartoon side, 60 to 91 is the valley, 92 and up is the convincing side. Then, in order: a spread of 5 or more means match the cues - one cue is far more (or less) real than the rest, the classic eerie mix; outside the valley, leave it be; in the valley, finish the realism if it should pass as real, otherwise pull it toward cartoon. Ties for the odd cue out go to the cue listed first.
The curve is drawn after the classic uncanny-valley sketch and is illustrative, not measured; the ratings are your own estimates. A playful perception check, not professional design or psychology advice. Nothing you type is kept unless you press save.