The "Uncanny Valley" is a concept in robotics and artificial intelligence that describes the discomfort people feel when they encounter a humanoid robot or animated character that closely resembles a human but is not quite perfect. This phenomenon suggests that as a robot's appearance becomes more human-like, our emotional response becomes more positive, until it reaches a point where it becomes unsettling or eerie. This unsettling feeling occurs because the nearly human-like features trigger a sense of familiarity, but the small imperfections create a disconnect. The term was first introduced by the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, highlighting the challenges in designing robots and characters that are relatable and appealing to humans.