What is an uncanny face?

An uncanny face is a face that looks nearly real but also provokes an unsettling, eerie, or strange feeling in viewers. This reaction is called the uncanny valley effect.

This effect may happen because the human brain has difficulty categorizing a face that looks almost human but not quite. This can cause cognitive dissonance, which makes people feel uncomfortable.

You can use Quillbot’s AI Image Generator to test out the uncanny valley effect by yourself by creating images of faces with varying levels of realism and seeing how you feel while looking at each.