Alethiometer

Main App
Result

The Alethiometer is a visually striking web application inspired by the truth-telling device from His Dark Materials. It functions as a Grounded AI Oracle designed to verify claims and contextualize information found in images.

✨ Inspiration

My project, Alethiometer, is directly inspired by the fictional truth-telling device from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, particularly as realized in the film and television adaptations. The core idea is to capture the instrument’s blend of ancient, intricate design (brass, clockwork, arcane symbols) with its profound function: revealing hidden truths. I wanted to build a digital oracle that feels like a powerful, physical artifact.

🔮 What it does

The Alethiometer is a web application designed to act as a grounded large language model (LLM) query tool. It interprets a user's question, uses the Gemini API to search for and synthesize information, and then presents the answer in a compelling, thematic format.

How it works:

The user session is secured and personalized via Firebase Authentication. Once logged in, the user uploads an image (such as a headline or a claim) and provides a context prompt. The application uses the Gemini API's vision capabilities to analyze the image content. It then leverages Google Search Grounding through the API to find and synthesize verifiable information from up-to-date web sources. The final, fact-checked response—complete with source citations—is delivered to the user in a thematic, antique-styled "reading" through symbols.

💡 Symbol System: Veracity & Context

Symbol	Meaning
🦉 Owl	Pure Truth
🦎 Chameleon	Misleading
🐍 Snake	Completely False
🔍 Magnifying Glass	Partially True
🌫️ Fog	Unverifiable
🕰️ Clock	Outdated
🎭 Theater Masks	Satire/Parody
❓ Question Mark	Needs More Context

🛠️ Technologies Used:

The project utilizes Vite for a high-performance build process. The frontend's intricate, antique brass and clockwork aesthetic is built using Tailwind CSS for responsive design. JavaScript powers the client-side logic, and Firebase handles secure user authentication. The Gemini API provides the core intelligence for multimodal understanding and grounded truth retrieval.

List of APIs used: