A classic case of “put on the pants or take off the cross” is unfolding around Natasha Lyonne and her new project, *Uncanny Valley*.
Announced in April, this sci-fi blockbuster was pitched as a pioneering experiment in integrating artificial intelligence into a high-budget film. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t sit well with unions.
Stage workers’ rights advocates are deeply wary of neural networks, fearing they’ll be the first to hit unemployment lines if AI takes hold. Yet Lyonne seems to relish the controversy, granting interviews where she champions AI and even claims the late David Lynch inspired her to use the technology.
The *Uncanny Valley* debate is a microcosm of a broader industry crisis. On the surface, Hollywood studios advocate for AI regulation, worker protection, and sustainability. Netflix, for instance, recently issued guidelines mandating platform approval for any generative content.
Yet, Ted Sarandos proudly touts AI’s role in fixing subpar VFX in the Argentine series *Eternaut*. This duality is rampant: one studio exec pleads for union support, while another quietly feeds another AI-generated project.
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During last year’s strikes, studios vocally backed legal frameworks for generative tech. Now, with picket lines gone, their rhetoric has shifted to a sly ambiguity. Keeping AI in a gray zone — nurturing it discreetly while conditioning audiences — seems the strategy. When SAG-AFTRA finally grasps the storm they missed, a shrug will be the only response. Clever, if not shameless.
