Uncanny Valley Nets $70 M and 400+ Creatives for Ethical AI Sci-Fi

Rahul Somvanshi

Natasha Lyonne teams up with Brit Marling and VR pioneer Jaron Lanier for sci-fi thriller "Uncanny Valley" using AI that's trained ONLY on legally licensed footage.

Photo Credits: Dominick D (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The plot follows teenage Mila who gets lost between realities when an AR game begins bleeding into her physical world.

Photo Source: Niko Desmon (Pexels)

Representative Image

Unlike competitors, Asteria's Marey AI video model avoids the ethical nightmare of web-scraped content through exclusive partnerships with studios like XTR.

Photo Source: MEMORYSCAPE INC

Representative Image

Named after motion pioneer Étienne-Jules Marey, this AI generates native HD footage up to 30 seconds per shot without quality-killing upscaling.

Photo Source: Dfarbe (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Representative Image

Who's backing this tech? Moonvalley secured a massive $70 million seed round from Bessemer, Khosla, and General Catalyst.

Photo Source: The Natural Step Canada (CC BY 2.0)

Representative Image

While Lyonne pushes boundaries, other AI films are already making waves—"What's Next?" premiered at Berlin Film Festival amid fierce copyright debates.

Photo Source: Tuluqaruk (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Studios see dollar signs: James Cameron estimates AI could slash visual effects costs by 50%, while others use it for script analysis and location scouting.

Photo Source: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Representative Image

Legal storms are brewing: Ziff Davis just sued OpenAI for unauthorized use of copyrighted material, setting precedent for the entire industry.

Photo Source: Kumar Kranti Prasad (Pexels)

Representative Image

Recent Copyright Office rulings confirm AI-only works can't be copyrighted—human creativity remains essential for legal protection.

Photo Source: Nick Youngson (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Representative Image

The upcoming EU AI Act will force transparency on training data sources, potentially classifying some AI platforms as "high-risk" unless they disclose licenses.

Photo Source: Håkan Dahlström (CC BY 2.0)

Representative Image

What do viewers actually want? A shocking 52% of Americans would rather watch a mediocre human-made film than an excellent AI creation.

Photo Source: Tima Miroshnichenko (Pexels)

Representative Image

Ben Affleck calls AI a skilled "craftsman" lacking taste, while Nicolas Cage warns actors to "protect your instrument" from digital replicas.

Photo Source: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Will Lyonne's experiment bridge the "Uncanny Valley" that makes us uncomfortable with almost-but-not-quite-human entities, or deepen our distrust?

Photo Source: Peabody Awards (CC BY 2.0)